US Right-Wing Influencers Unknowingly Worked for Russian Influence Operation, DOJ Says
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Several popular American right-wing influencers were unknowingly part of a Russian influence operation, the US Department of Justice claims.
The Details: In an unsealed indictment, the DOJ says a Tennessee-based media company received $10 million from the Kremlin-funded state media outlet RT (Lean Right bias). Media outlets have reported the company is Tenet Media, which lists personalities like Tim Pool (Lean Right bias), Benny Johnson, and Dave Rubin as its “talent.” According to the indictment, the influencers were fooled by the company’s founders, Liam Donovan and his conservative influencer wife, Lauren Chen.
For Context: The DOJ also sanctioned 10 employees of RT, including editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, and seized 32 internet domains.
Key Quotes: Tim Pool wrote on X, “Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims… Never at any point did anyone other than I have full editorial control of the show.” Benny Johnson said he was pitched an independent contractor deal a year ago and that the deal was “later terminated.” He added, “We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme.”
How The Media Covered It: ZeroHedge (Lean Right bias) focused much of its coverage on Chen’s role in the scheme and X discourse about her. Associated Press (Lean Left bias) mentioned that she appeared in many of Tenet’s videos and is associated with Turning Point USA (Right bias) and RT.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Right-wing influencers were duped to work for covert Russian influence operation, US says
They have millions of followers online. 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.
An indictment filed Wednesday alleges a media company linked to six conservative influencers — including well-known personalities Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson — was secretly funded by Russian state media employees to churn out English-language videos that were “often consistent” with the Kremlin’s “interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in...
From the Center
Right-Wing Influencer Network Tenet Media Allegedly Spread Russian Disinformation
A Tennessee-based media network that produces shows for high-profile right-wing influencers such as Benny Johnson and Tim Pool was largely funded by Russian state-backed news network RT, according to a federal indictment against two RT employees that the US Department of Justice unsealed on Wednesday. The DOJ claims the US company—which WIRED, along with other news outlets, was able to identify as Tenet Media but goes unnamed in the indictment—posted hundreds of videos on social media that pushed Kremlin-approved talking points.
With the tagline “Fearless voices live here,” Tenet Media’s network includes online creators...
From the Right
Popular Conservatives Allegedly Tricked Into $10M Russian Influence Campaign: DOJ
The DOJ has accused several conservative influencers of unwittingly working for a Kremlin-funded media outlet.
A federal indictment unsealed on Wednesday alleges that a Tennessee-based media company, later identified as Tenet Media, received nearly $10 million from employees of Russian state-backed media company, Russia Today (RT), as part of "a scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging."
he DOJ claims that RT and two of its employees - Kostiantyn “Kostya” Kalashnikov and Elena “Lena” Afanasyeva - worked to funnel money to Tenet Media as part...
AllSides Picks
September 13th, 2024
September 15th, 2024
September 13th, 2024
More News about Russia from the Left, Center and Right
From the Left
From the Center
From the Right
