A Tennessee-based media company with prominent MAGA personalities on its roster has been accused of receiving millions of dollars from two employees of Russian state-backed media company Russia Today (RT) in order to influence American viewers.
According to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Russian employees created a $10 million scheme “to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.”
While described as “U.S. Company 1” in an unsealed indictment Wednesday, clues suggest that it is Tenet Media, which has been named in various reports as the firm in question.
The indictment describes how Company-1’s website describes itself as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.” It employs six commentators as its “talent.”
The far-right YouTube commentators on Tenet Media’s roster include Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Taylor Hansen, Lauren Southern, and Matt Christiansen. The indictment does not name names, but identifies the internet personalities simply as “Commentator-1” and “Commentator-2”.
The Daily Beast reached out to Pool, Rubin, and Tenet for comment but did not receive an immediate reply. Johnson, however, said in a statement on X: “We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme.”
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Article URL : https://www.thedailybeast.com/doj-bombshell-alleges-maga-media-group-is-backed-by-russian-money