Shortly after the channel was launched, James Painter wrote that RT and similar news channels such as France 24 and TeleSUR saw themselves as "counter-hegemonic", offering a differing vision and news content from that of Western media like the CNN and the BBC.
Tidak lama setelah saluran diluncurkan, James Painter menulis bahwa RT dan saluran berita serupa seperti France 24 dan TeleSUR melihat diri mereka sebagai "kontra-hegemonik", menawarkan visi yang berbeda dan konten berita dari Media Barat seperti CNN dan BBC.