The FBI Caught a Right-Wing Media Company Taking Russian Money
A new indictment by the FBI shows extent of Russian influence peddling
In another display of just how far the Russian government, and some commentators, are willing to go to spread propaganda and undermine the public good, the FBI has caught a conservative media company taking money from two Russian operatives. The indictment and the response to it, is yet another example of how dangerous foreign influence in our politics truly is.
The Indictment: A Sign of Conservative Disloyalty
The FBIโs announcement, which was first reported on September 4th, alerted the public an indictment against Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, two contributors to the pro-Russian propaganda site, RT. The indictment accuses the two of laundering $10 million in an attempt to sow division in the public and undermine support for Ukraine. As The Washington Post explained:
The 32-page federal indictment accuses Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, employees of RT, a Russian-state news site formerly known as Russia Today, of conducting a money-laundering operation that spent nearly $10 million on efforts to covertly influence public opinion and sow social divisions, including placing blame on Ukraine regarding the war with Russia.
Authorities said the U.S. company, which was not identified by name in the indictment, allegedly created and posted hundreds of English-language videos on social media sites, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X, that echoed Russian state propaganda and garnered 16 million views on YouTube alone.
-David Nakamura, et al., โJustice Dept. Charges Two Russian Media Operatives in Alleged Scheme,โ Washington Post, September 4, 2024.
The company, while unnamed in the indictment, is Tenet Media, founded by Canadian conservative commentator Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan. The description of the media company that received the money matches Tenetโs own website and comments by figures like Tim Pool have effectively confirmed that the Tenet is the one that received the money.
It is worth noting this company, which started in 2023, was no small operation. Tenet enjoyed access to talent across the conservative media sphere including the likes of Tim Pool, Lauren Southern, Matt Christiansen and Benny Johnson. These figures likely were not aware of the full extent of the funding and were kept in the dark about the nature of the fundraising or the intentions of the people providing funds to Tenet.
The same canโt be said of Lauren Chen, who, as I have previously mentioned in my video on her, is a far-right provocateur. I find it highly unlikely that the same woman who founded the company would also be unaware of the companyโs source of funds.
The fact that Chen would be involved in anyway with such an endeavor is sadly not surprising to me as her content has always been dishonest, misleading and bigoted. She would be a perfect source of bigoted content for far-right Russian propaganda and providing funds to expand her ability to spread such divisive content is almost certainly in Russiaโs interest.
While it is still too early to say how this case will go, and Chen herself isnโt facing an indictment as of today, it should serve as a clear and present reminder that the right sees its political ends as more important than defending America from its adversaryโs propaganda.
Originally published at https://theprogressiveamerican.com on September 5, 2024.