NEW YORK — They have millions of followers online. They have been major players in right-wing political discourse since Donald Trump was president. And they unknowingly worked for a company that a front for a Russian influence operationsay US prosecutors.
An indictment filed Wednesday alleges that a media company with ties to six conservative influencers — including well-known personalities such as Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson — was secretly funded by Russian state media operatives to produce English-language videos that were “often consistent” with the Kremlin’s “interest in exacerbating domestic divisions in the U.S. to weaken U.S. opposition to Russian interests,” as its war in Ukraine.
Besides the fact that this is the third consecutive presidential election in which US authorities have revealed politically charged details about Russia’s attempt to interfere in US politicsAn indictment suggests that Moscow may be trying to capitalize on the growing popularity of right-wing podcasters, livestreamers and other content creators who have built successful careers on social media in the years since Trump took office.
The U.S. Department of Justice is not alleging that the influencers committed any wrongdoing. Some of them were allegedly given false information about the source of the company’s funding. Instead, it is accusing two employees of RT, a Russian state-owned media company, of funneling nearly $10 million to a Tennessee content creation company for Russia-friendly content.
After the charges were announced, both Pool and Johnson released statements on social media, which Rubin retweeted, saying they were victims of the alleged crimes and that they had done nothing wrong.
“We still don’t know what is true, because these are just accusations,” Pool said. “Putin is a scoundrel.”
In his post, Johnson wrote that he had been asked to provide content to a “media startup” a year ago. He said his lawyers had negotiated a “standard, independent deal, which was later terminated.”
Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva are accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They are at large and it was not immediately clear whether they had lawyers.
US officials have previously warned about Russia uses unwitting Americans to further influence operations in the 2024 election, but Wednesday’s indictment is the most detailed account of those efforts yet. Intelligence officials have said Moscow favors Trump.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given permission influential operations to help Trump in the 2020 electionwhile his 2016 campaign benefited from hacking by Russian intelligence officers and a covert effort on social media, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials said.
With the decline of traditional media outlets like newspapers and restrictions on direct advertising on social media platforms, influencers are increasingly playing a key role in politics and shaping public opinion. Both the Republican and Democratic parties have invited dozens of influencers to their respective national conventions this summer. But with little to no disclosure requirements about who funds the work of influencers, the public is largely in the dark about who is driving online messaging.
While the lawsuit doesn’t name the Tennessee company, the details match exactly with Tenet Media, an online media company that boasts of hosting “a network of heterodox commentators focused on Western political and cultural issues.” Tenet’s website lists six influencers as content providers, including Pool, Johnson, Rubin, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen and Matt Christiansen.
Tenet Media’s top six influencers have over 7 million subscribers on YouTube and over 7 million followers on X.
Fueled by public outrage and online fandom, the influencers who make up Tenet Media’s talent pool have amassed millions of loyal followers who agree with their unwavering conservatism and unapologetic willingness to express controversial opinions. Their channels have also created communities for conservative Americans who have lost trust in mainstream media sources in the wake of Trump’s 2020 loss and the COVID-19 pandemic. Several have been criticized for spreading political disinformation.
The indictment alleges that some influencers were paid handsomely for their work. One unidentified influencer’s contract included a monthly fee of $400,000, a $100,000 signing bonus, and an additional performance bonus.
Tenet Media’s shows in recent months have featured prominent conservative guests, including Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake. The nearly 2,000 videos posted by the company have amassed more than 16 million views on YouTube alone, prosecutors said.
Pool, a journalist turned YouTuber who first came to public attention livestreaming the Occupy Wall Street protests, hosted Trump on his podcast earlier this year.
Johnson is an outspoken Trump supporter and internet personality who was fired from BuzzFeed after the company evidence found He had also plagiarized other works.
Rubin was previously a part of the liberal news commentary show “The Young Turks,” but has since identified as a libertarian. He has 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. RT’s website also lists her as a contributor to several opinion pieces in 2021 and 2022.
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Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia. AP reporter Garance Burke reported from San Francisco and researcher Rhonda Shafner reported from New York.
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