A Tennessee-based media network that produces shows for high-profile right-wing influencers including Benny Johnson and Tim Pool was largely funded by the Russian state-backed news network RT, a report says. federal indictment The US Justice Department on Wednesday unsealed an indictment against two RT employees. The Justice Department alleges that the US company (which WIRED, along with other media outlets, was able to identify as Tenet Media, but is not named in the indictment) posted hundreds of videos on social media that promoted Kremlin-approved talking points.
With the motto “Brave Voices Live Here,” Tenet Media’s network includes online creators known for their right-wing political stances, including Johnson, Pool, Dave Rubin, and Lauren Southern. In addition to the network’s individual following of creators, who collectively number in the millions, Tenet Media has more than 315,000 followers on YouTube and thousands more on Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.
Johnson, Pool, Rubin and Southern did not immediately respond to requests for comment; none are accused of wrongdoing. “We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment,” Johnson said. wrote about X, referring to him and his lawyers, “making it clear that I and other influencers were victims of this alleged scheme.” Pool also posted a statement on X, saying in part, “If these allegations prove true, I and the other personalities and commentators were misled and are victims.” Rubin retweeted Pool’s post.
Prosecutors say in the indictment that Tenet and its founders — who also appear unnamed in the indictment but are right-wing influencer Lauren Chen and her husband, Liam Donovan, according to corporate records — actively concealed the company’s ties to Russia from individual creators.
Tenet reportedly received around $9.7 million from RT, According to the Department of JusticeOf that amount, $8.7 million went to the production companies of three unnamed commentators, according to the indictment. One of them, referred to as “Commentator-1” (the description appears to be that of Johnson or Rubin), was allegedly hired for $400,000 a month for four weekly videos. The nearly $10 million that Tenet Media allegedly received from RT “represents nearly 90%” of the funds deposited into the company’s accounts, the Justice Department says.
The Justice Department identifies Tenet Media only as “US Company-1,” but notes in the indictment that the company describes itself as a “network of heterodox commentators focusing on Western political and cultural issues.” That language is identical to the description that appears in Tenet Media Website.
Tenet and Chen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Russian RT employees indicted by the US, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, allegedly worked with Tenet Media to produce hundreds of videos supporting Russia’s goals. They are charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering for their alleged work with Tenet Media and associated activities.
The pair, who posed as outside video editors, were allegedly intimately involved in Tenet Media’s operations. Kalashnikov, for example, “monitored[Tenet Media’s]internal communications and edited content” published by the company, the indictment states. Afanasyeva, who allegedly used the fake personas “Helena Shudra” and “Victoria Pesti” while working with Tenet Media, allegedly “edited, published, and directed the publications” of Tenet Media and “provided daily instructions” to the company’s staff. Afanasyeva’s work with Tenet Media allegedly included instructing the company to publish pro-Russian viewpoints, such as pushing a conspiracy theory that Ukraine and the United States were responsible for a terrorist attack in March at a Moscow music venue.
