Hey GOP right wingers and ultra-conservatives
how about throwing some blame for the nation’s woes your way, um based on this
startling PBS news article from The AP and also here
with a video clip from NPR’s reporting, elsewhere.
First watch AG Garland’s
announcement on Russia’s 2024 election disinformation efforts & DOJ’s countering
(32 minutes but worth it):
“Well-known right-wing
influencers duped to work for covert Russian operation, U.S. prosecutors say”
NY (AP) (Sep. 5, 2024):
They have millions of followers online. They have been major players in
right-wing political discourse since Trump was president. U.S. prosecutors say they
worked unknowingly for a company that was a front for a
Russian influence operation.
The
DOJ indictment filed alleges a media company linked to six American conservative
influencers — including
these three well-known personalities: Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, and Tim
Pool and these other three:
Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, and Matt Christiansen (not pictured above). All
six are discussed abds seen in this USA Today site.
All six were secretly funded by Russian state media employees to churn
out English-language videos that were broadcast in part, and: “Often consistent with the Kremlin’s interest
in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to
Russian interests, like its war in Ukraine.”
In addition to marking the third straight presidential
election (2016 to present) in which U.S. authorities have unveiled politically
charged details about Russia’s attempted interference in U.S. politics, this indictment
show how Moscow may be attempting (again) to capitalize on the skyrocketing
popularity of right-wing podcasters, live streamers, and other content creators
who have found successful careers on social media in the years since Trump was
in office.
The DOJ doesn’t allege any wrongdoing by the influencers,
some of whom it says were given false information about the source of the
company’s funding.
However, the DOJ indictment
accuses employees of RT (Russia Today), a Russian state media
company, of funneling nearly $10 million to a Tennessee-based content creation
company for Russia-friendly content. Some were paid: $400k/month;
$100k/signing bonus; and $100k/per video presentation.
After the indictments were announced, both Pool and Johnson
issued statements on social media, which Rubin retweeted, saying they were
victims of the alleged crimes and had done nothing wrong.
Pool said: “We still do not know what is true as these
are only allegations. Putin is a scumbag.”
Johnson wrote: “He had been asked a year ago to provide
content to a media startup and that his lawyers had negotiated a standard, arm’s
length deal, which was later terminated.”
Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and
Elena Afanasyeva are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and
violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). They are still
at large, and it was not immediately clear if they had lawyers.
U.S. officials have previously warned of Russia’s use of
unwitting Americans to further influence operations in the 2024 election, but the
indictment is the most detailed description of those efforts to date.
NOTE: Intelligence
officials still say Moscow (Putin) has preference for Trump to win ever since
2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help
Trump in the 2020 election, while his 2016 campaign benefited from hacking by
Russian intelligence officers and a covert social media effort, according to
U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials (e.g., the DNC and Hillary
Clinton emails).
With the decline of traditional media like newspapers and
limits on direct advertising on social media platforms, influencers are increasingly
playing a key role in politics and shaping public opinion.
FYI: Both the Republican and Democratic parties invited scores of
influencers to their respective national conventions this summer. But with
little to no disclosure requirements about who is funding influencers’ work,
the public is largely in the dark about who is powering the messaging online.
Though the indictment does not name the Tennessee-based
company, the details match up exactly with Tenet Media (NOTE: Their homepage header
shows all 6 of the persons mentioned in the DOJ indictment, too). Tenet boasts
of hosting “a network of heterodox
commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.”
Tenet’s website lists six influencers who provide content,
including Pool, Johnson, Rubin, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, and Matt
Christiansen again in their header page just mentioned. Tenet Media’s six main
influencers have more than 7 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 7
million followers on X.
Fueled by public outrage and online fandom, the influencers
who make up the bench of talent at Tenet Media have amassed millions of loyal
followers who agree with their staunch conservatism and brazen willingness to
voice controversial opinions. Their channels also have created communities for
conservative Americans who have lost trust in mainstream media sources through
Trump’s 2020 loss and the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of them have faced
criticism for spreading political misinformation.
The indictment shows that
some of the influencers were paid handsomely for their work. One unidentified
influencer’s contract included a $400,000 monthly fee, a $100,000 signing bonus,
and an additional performance bonus per video.
Tenet Media’s shows
in recent months have featured high-profile conservative guests, including:
RNC co-chair Lara Trump (Eric’s wife); former GOP presidential candidate Vivek
Ramaswamy; and Senate candidate Kari Lake. Nearly 2,000 videos posted by the
company have gotten more than 16 million views on YouTube alone.
· Pool is a
journalist-turned-YouTuber who first gained public attention for
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 found evidence he’d plagiarized other works.
· Rubin was
previously part of the liberal news commentary show “The Young Turks” but has
since identified as a libertarian. He boasts 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 of several opinion articles from
2021 and 2022.
My 2 Cents: Okay – so who are you gonna believe and trust regarding
this story?
Hopefully, we all should
trust the DOJ and their allegations and efforts to counter any Russian or other
foreign election interference actors.
This election might be the
most important in our nation’s political history.
Hope you enjoyed the post.
Come again.
Thanks for stopping by.
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