Anna Hudak, news editor

As technology develops and mistrust of mainstream media increases, new forms of news and political commentary evolve. Political influencers have gathered immense power and reach which Russia has recognized as something that can be used in their favor. The United States Department of Justice unsealed an indictment accusing two staff from Russian media company RT, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, of paying $10 million to a content creation company called Company 1 in the indictment. According to CNN, the two staff “were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act [FARA] and money laundering.” 

Although the media company receiving funding from RT was not named in the indictment, the Tennessee based company Tenet Media meets the indictment’s description and has been independently confirmed as Company 1 by CNN. Tenet Media describes itself on its website as “a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues” and features six prominent right-wing content creators whose collective reach is over 6 million followers. 

Right-wing publications have been distancing themselves from Tenet Media. Lauren Chen, one of Tenet Media’s co-founders, was fired from conservative news website The Blaze following the indictment. Turning Point content featuring Chen on their webpage has been removed. As of the writing of this article, neither her nor Liam Donovan, her co-founder and husband, have issued any statements concerning the indictment. 

Most Tenet Media influencers (with the exception of Lauren Southern) claim they had no knowledge of Russian funding and they are victims of this scheme. Tim Pool, a Tenet Media right-wing streamer and podcaster, said on X, “should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims.” Pool says he is in contact with the FBI who believes he may have valuable information regarding the investigation. Another Tenet Media content creator, Benny Johnson, also posted a statement on X about the “leaked DOJ indictment,” claiming it “make[s] clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme.” The indictment explains that these influencers were told their funding came from “Eduard Gregoriann.” 

Russia has an extensive history of interference with previous U.S. elections, preferring the digital medium. In 2016, Russia supported Bernie Sanders and supported Donald Trump. In 2020, Russia continued to support Donald Trump in his reelection through the Internet Research Agency (IRA). Dozens of IRA created social media accounts that created division and spread fear, posing as U.S. citizens. Tenet Media confirms the Russian government’s persistence and long-standing commitment to interfering in U.S. elections. In the words of Yevgheny Prighozin, self proclaimed founder of RT, “Gentlemen, we interfered, we interfere, and we will interfere.”

It will be interesting to see how the unsealing of this indictment and the FBI’s research into it will have an impact on these influencers and right-wing media as a whole. In this critical election year, this case may have a lasting impact in the funding of social media stars for political gain.