YouTube removes Tenet Media channel over alleged ties to Russian disinformation effort

Google has shut down several YouTube channels belonging to a company the Justice Department linked this week to a Russian disinformation campaign.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department took down 32 websites used for a Russian influence operation and charged two Russian nationals working for the outlet RT for their role in paying U.S.-based media influencers to spread propaganda that furthered the Kremlin’s geopolitical goals.

While the document does not name the U.S. company or citizens involved in the effort, evidence in the indictments ties the campaign to Tennessee-based media company Tenet Media — a prominent right-wing platform that employs dozens of popular political commentators. 

“Following an indictment from the US Department of Justice and after careful review, we are terminating the Tenet Media channel and four channels operated by its owner Lauren Chen as part of our ongoing efforts to combat coordinated influence operations,” a YouTube spokesperson told Recorded Future News on Friday. 

While the Justice Department claimed the commentators were victims of the scheme and did not know the money came from Russia’s government, court documents show the unnamed American founders of the company — which have now been identified as Chen and her husband Liam Donovan — knew their funding came from “the Russians.” 

The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment about whether Chen and Donovan will face charges, but the indictment noted that Chen worked for RT’s parent company from March 2021 to Feb 2022. 

Through RT, Russian officials both suggested content for Tenet Media to cover and often posted content directly through the company’s platforms, the indictment said. 

After RT shut down its U.S.-based operations in 2022, its employees Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva  — who both have deep ties to Russia’s government — allegedly started a covert effort to funnel its news through Tenet Media. 

At least $10 million was pumped into Tenet Media, which then paid conservative media stars like Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin and others to produce YouTube videos criticizing the U.S. role in the Ukraine war and other topics desirable to Russia’s leaders.

Tenet Media, which often had videos and content shared on X by the site’s owner Elon Musk, has not tweeted since the indictments were issued on Wednesday. 

The court documents say Chen made a significant effort to conceal Tenet Media’s funding model while trying to recruit popular conservative figures.

In at least one instance, when Chen felt that her emails about invoice payments were being ignored, she allegedly Googled the time in Moscow. 

The indictments say Chen and Donovan told employees the funding came from a Paris-based businessman named “Eduard Grigoriann” — a fake persona used by indicted RT employees Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva. When the commentators asked for proof that the businessman was real, they were sent a fake one-page document about “Grigoriann.”

Several of the commentators identified as part of the scheme — Tim Pool, Benny Johnson and Dave Rubin — have released statements claiming they were “victims” and did not know the money they received came from Russia’s government. They also said they were not aware that the news and content they were making was tied to a Russian disinformation effort. 

Pool also said on Thursday that he has been contacted by the FBI, which believes he has “information relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation.” He requested an interview with investigators and offered his assistance. 

Johnson said he is “disturbed by the allegations” which make clear that he “and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme.” Rubin echoed the others in saying that the indictment proves he and other commentators were not aware of the scheme and “knew absolutely nothing about any of this fraudulent activity.” He said the Justice Department has never contacted him.

Court documents show that Rubin was paid a monthly fee of $400,000 along with a $100,000 signing bonus for four videos each week. Pool was allegedly paid $100,000 per video. 

Chen and Donovan have not released statements about the incident and Tenet Media has not responded to requests for comment. One correspondent at Tenet Media claimed on X the company is no longer operating after the indictments. 

With just two months until the U.S. presidential election, U.S. officials are sounding alarms about Russian disinformation influencing the American news environment. 

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the effort uncovered this week underscores what his committee has repeatedly warned — that foreign adversaries are acutely interested in meddling in U.S. elections “using a wide range of tools to seek their preferred electoral outcomes and stoke division among Americans.” 

“With just 62 days until Election Day, we must remain vigilant, and the Senate Intelligence Committee will continue to work with the Intelligence Community to keep the American public alert to the threat posed by those seeking to disrupt the democratic process,” he said. 

A YouTube spokesperson told Recorded Future News that in addition to its decision to remove Tenet Media and Chen’s channels, it has worked with Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) to uncover other disinformation campaigns, including several emanating from Russia. 

In the second quarter of this year alone, YouTube has terminated 378 YouTube channels as part of a Google investigation into Russian influence operations, the company said. 

They noted that in 2022 they also blocked Russia from creating a state-sponsored news channel on YouTube and have continually shut down other channels from Russian outlets RT and Sputnik that attempted to circumvent these efforts.