Business
How Russia Infiltrated Conservative Media in America
Federal prosecutors say Russia paid an American media company to push pro-Kremlin messages from social media influencers including Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and Dave Rubin.
Updated 2024-Oct-02 02:34
Lauren Chen sits a table, wearing a dark sweater, on what appears to be a TV set.
Hansen stated that having complete independence is essential and there is no reason to not collaborate with a company that offers it.
Never before have I experienced so much freedom. When asked about Tenet s source of income he straightforwardly answered Donors.
Riedl a journalism professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville who focuses on misinformation on social media pointed out the significant regulatory gaps exposed by the Tenet case in the American political system.
The Federal Election Commission has stringent disclosure rules for TV and radio ads but lacks similar regulations for paid social media influencers.
There is a big gap that the Russians seemed to take advantage of as there are minimal regulations on influencers communication and no regulations on political speech said Mr.Nico Grant and Kitty Bennett provided information and set up a call with a person claiming to be the banker.
In early 2022 a young couple from Canada Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan registered a new company in Tennessee that went on to create a social media outlet called Tenet Media.
By November 2023 they had assembled a lineup of major conservative social media stars including Benny Johnson Tim Pool and Dave Rubin to post original content on Tenet’s platform.
The site then began posting hundreds of videos trafficking in pointed political commentary as well as conspiracy theories about election fraud Covid 19 immigrants and Russia’s war with Ukraine that were then promoted across the spectrum of social media from YouTube to TikTok X Facebook Instagram and Rumble.
It was all federal prosecutors now say a covert Russian influence operation. On Wednesday the Justice Department accused two Russians of helping orchestrate $10 million in payments to Tenet in a scheme to use those stars to spread Kremlin friendly messages.
The disclosures reflect the growing sophistication of the Kremlin’s longstanding efforts to shape American public opinion and advance Russia’s geopolitical goals which include according to American intelligence assessments the election of former President Donald J.Trump in November.
That seemed to be sufficient to ease any worries. Jankowicz expressed regret that these influencers didn t do enough research.
If an offer seems too good to be true like being paid $100 000 per video for content you already create it likely is.
Tayler Hansen known for filming the U. Capitol shooting used to make money by licensing footage and selling merchandise before Tenet offered him a biweekly salary last year.
Tenet also employed the producer of Mr. Hansen and paid for his services.
