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Right-Wing Influencers Deny Knowledge of Russian Funding [rollingstone.com]:

Prominent right-wing influencers including Tim Pool [rollingstone.com], Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson [rollingstone.com] are claiming to be the victims of a fraudulent Russian political disinformation scheme exposed by the Justice Department on Wednesday. 

In an unsealed indictment, the DOJ charged two Russian citizens, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyev, with acting as unregistered foreign agents and of “conspiracy to commit money laundering.” Both individuals are employees of the state-controlled Russian media outfit RT. 

“The Justice Department has charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a $10 million scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. 

According to a press release issued by the DOJ, “Over at least the past year, RT and its employees, including Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva, deployed nearly $10 million to covertly finance and direct a Tennessee-based online content creation company.” 

“In order to carry out RT’s secret influence campaign in the United States, Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva operated under covert identities,” with Kalashnikov posing as an outside editor and editing the company’s content, monitoring its funding and hiring, and introducing Afanasyeva as a member of his purported editing team.” The indictment further alleges that two unnamed founders of the company created a fake investor profile under the name “Eduard Grigoriann” in order to dupe potential participants. 

The indictment describes the company as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.” CNN confirmed [cnn.com] on Wednesday that the description refers to Tenet Media, a media company that distributes political content from independent creators across multiple platforms. 

Among the creators in its roster are Pool, Rubin, and Johnson, as well as right-wing podcaster Matt Christiansen, alt-right figure Lauren Southern, and commentator Tayler Hansen. None of the creators hired by Tenet Media have been charged with criminal offenses related to the scheme.  Editor’s picks

Since Russia [rollingstone.com]’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, conservatives have become increasingly oppositional to U.S. aid to Ukraine, and viewpoints supporting Russia’s position in the war have become prevalent throughout right-wing media. Wednesday’s indictment is by no means the first time Russian state agents have attempted to weaponize this dynamic in their own favor. In 2022, a leaked Kremlin memo [rollingstone.com] revealed that the Russian government urged state-friendly media outfits to rebroadcast clips from the show of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson — a pattern that remains in place [thehill.com] despite Carlson’s exit from the network. 

Several of the creators have denied having any knowledge that the funding for Tenet, and the payments they received from the company, were linked to a Russian influence operation. 

“Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims. I cannot speak for anyone else at the company as to what they do or to what they are instructed,” Pool wrote on X [x.com], formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. “The show is produced in its entirety by our local team without input from anyone external to the company. TCW is a separate company not associated with Timcast.com or other properties. It exists solely for the production of the Culture War Podcast.”

Rubin echoed the sentiment, writing in a statement on X [x.com] that “tThese allegations clearly show that I and other commentators were the victims of this scheme. I knew absolutely nothing about any of this fraudulent activity. Period.”    Related

Johnson falsely claimed on X [x.com] that the indictment had been “leaked,” writing that “a year ago, a media startup pitched my company to provide content as an independent contractor. Our lawyers negotiated a standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated.” 

“We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme. My lawyers will handle anyone who states or suggests otherwise,” he added. 

Several of the creators involved with Tenet claimed that they have not been contacted by law enforcement or the Justice Department on the matter. Conservative lawyer Harmeet Dhillon issued some coincidentally timed advice in a tweet [x.com] on Wednesday: “Remember, friends, don’t talk to law enforcement without counsel. Just trust me on this.” 

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