They have been major players in right-wing political discourse since Donald Trump was president.
And they worked unknowingly for a company that was a front for a Russian influence operation, U.S. prosecutors say.
The U.S. Justice Department doesn’t allege any wrongdoing by the influencers, some of whom it says were given false information about the source of the company’s funding.
Instead, it accuses two employees of RT, a Russian state media company, of funneling nearly $10 million to a Tennessee-based content creation company for Russia-friendly content.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties invited scores of influencers to their respective national conventions this summer.
But with little to no disclosure requirements about who is funding influencers’ work, the public is largely in the dark about who is powering the messaging online.
Tenet Media’s six main influencers have more than 7 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 7 million followers on X.
The indictment shows that some of the influencers were paid handsomely for their work.
He boasts the largest YouTube following of Tenet’s influencer roster and hosts a show called “The Rubin Report.” Tenet Media President Liam Donovan is the husband of Lauren Chen, a Canadian influencer who has appeared as a guest in several Tenet Media videos.
Chen is affiliated with the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA and has hosted shows for the right-wing network Blaze Media.
NEW YORK (AP) — Their online following numbers in the millions. Since Donald Trump became president, they have been significant figures in right-wing political discourse. Furthermore, they were unwitting employees of a business that served as a front for a Russian influence campaign, U.S. s. prosecutor’s statement.
A Wednesday indictment claims that a media company associated with six prominent conservative influencers, such as Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson, received covert funding from Russian state media employees to produce English-language videos that were “often consistent” with the Kremlin’s “interest in amplifying U.S. s. domestic conflicts to undermine U.S. S. opposition to Russian policies, such as the war it is waging in Ukraine.
This election also signifies the third consecutive time that the U.S. s. Authorities have made public sensitive information regarding Russia’s attempted meddling in U.S. s. politics, an indictment suggests that Moscow might be trying to take advantage of the right-wing content creators and podcasters who have become extremely successful on social media in the years since Trump took office.
The US. S. The influencers, some of whom the Justice Department claims were misled about the company’s funding source, are not accused of any wrongdoing. Rather, it charges two workers of the Russian state media outlet RT of giving close to $10 million to a Tennessee-based content production business in exchange for Russia-friendly content.
Pool and Johnson both released social media statements following the announcement of the indictments, claiming they were victims of the alleged crimes and had done nothing wrong. Rubin retweeted these statements.
Since these are merely claims, we still don’t know what is true, according to Pool. “Putin is a jerk.”. “.
Johnson stated in his post that a year prior, he had been approached by a “media startup” for content. “A standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated,” he said his lawyers had negotiated. “.
The Foreign Agents Registration Act violations and conspiracy to commit money laundering are the charges brought against Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva. It’s unclear right now if they have attorneys because they are fugitives.
You. s. Though officials have previously issued warnings about Russia’s use of unknowing Americans to further influence election operations in 2024, the indictment released on Wednesday provides the most comprehensive account of those efforts to date. According to intelligence officials, Moscow favors Trump.
Following Russian intelligence officers’ hacking of Trump’s 2016 campaign and a clandestine social media campaign, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved influence operations to aid Trump in the 2020 election, according to U.S. S. officials in law enforcement and intelligence.
Despite not naming the Tennessee-based company, the indictment’s details exactly align with Tenet Media, an online media outlet that claims to host “a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.”. Pool, Johnson, Rubin, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, and Matt Christiansen are the six influencers listed on Tenet’s website as content providers.
The six primary influencers of Tenet Media have over 7 million YouTube subscribers and over 7 million X followers.
Driven by public indignation and virtual fandom, Tenet Media’s bench of talent comprises influencers who have accumulated millions of devoted fans who share their unwavering conservatism and audacious propensity to express divisive views. Additionally, conservative Americans who have lost faith in mainstream media due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump’s defeat in 2020 have found communities on their channels. Many of them have come under fire for disseminating false information about politics.
It is evident from the indictment that some of the influencers received substantial compensation for their efforts. The terms of the contract for one unnamed influencer were $400,000 per month, plus a $100,000 signing bonus and additional performance bonuses.
Recently, prominent conservative guests have appeared on Tenet Media’s shows. These guests have included Lara Trump, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, and U.S. S. Kari Lake is running for the Senate. Prosecutors said that the nearly 2,000 videos the company uploaded have received over 16 million views on YouTube alone.
Early this year, Trump was interviewed on Pool’s podcast. Pool is a former journalist who is now a YouTuber. He first came to the public’s attention by livestreaming the Occupy Wall Street protests.
BuzzFeed fired Johnson, a well-known internet personality and vocal Trump supporter, after discovering evidence of his plagiarism.
After leaving the liberal news commentary program “The Young Turks,” Rubin now identifies as a libertarian. He is the host of “The Rubin Report,” and he has the biggest YouTube following among Tenet’s influencer business. “.
Husband of Canadian influencer Lauren Chen, who has made guest appearances in multiple Tenet Media videos, Liam Donovan is the president of Tenet Media. Chen has hosted programs for the right-wing network Blaze Media and is connected to the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. She is also listed as a contributor to multiple opinion pieces from 2021 and 2022 on the RT website.
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