Twitter will no longer allow ads from the Russian news media outlets RT and Sputnik to run on its platform.

In a statement on its company blog, Twitter said it made the decision "based on the retrospective work we've been doing around the 2016 U.S. election and the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that both RT and Sputnik attempted to interfere with the election on behalf of the Russian government."

Major social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter have drawn scrutiny from Congress and the intelligence community after reports that the social media giants were used by Russia to spread false information in an effort to influence the 2016 election.

RT, which airs in the U.S., is widely believed to be a propaganda arm of the Kremlin. Sputnik is largely based online and is said to serve the same function.

"We did not come to this decision lightly, and are taking this step now as part of our ongoing commitment to help protect the integrity of the user experience on Twitter," Twitter said in its blog post.

Twitter said it would take the money it believes it has earned in advertising from RT, nearly $2 million, and "donate those funds to support external research into the use of Twitter in civic engagement and elections."