Facebook and Instagram welcome back pro-Kremlin pundit Dmitry Kiselyov

Facebook and Instagram have reinstated the accounts of Dmitry Kiselyov, one of Russia’s most recognizable news anchors and the head of state-owned news agency Rossiya Segondya. Facebook, which also owns Instagram, explained that the accounts were initially deleted because there were doubts about their authenticity.

“We got complaints indicating the the accounts might be fake. Since then, we’ve received all the necessary information confirming the authenticity of the information, and both accounts have been restored,” said Facebook’s press office.

Dmitry Kiselyov is a famous pundit and an evening news anchor on the state channel Rossiya-1. He is also the head of the state-owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya.

On July 17, Kiselyov set up a Facebook account, and the following day he also registered an Instagram account, posting some photos of his vacation in Crimea. Both accounts were immediately flooded with hateful comments, and were subsequently deleted. Kiselyov then set up a profile page on the Russian social network Vkontakte, which he intends to use as a channel of communication with his fans.

Kiselyov has been included on the EU’s sanctions lists. For this reason, the British bank account of his news agency Rossiya Segodnya was blocked by Barclays earlier this month.

Kiselyov is known for his controversial statements. In 2014, following the Crimean crisis, he said that Russia is “the only country in the world capable of turning the United States into radioactive dust.” He is also known for saying on television that the hearts of gay people killed in car accidents “should be burned and buried.”