(Credit: YouTube)
YouTube has shut down a right-wing political channel called Tenet Media after the US accused it of being a Russian government-funded operation intended to divide Americans.
YouTube terminated the channel, along with four others run by Lauren Chen, a former employee of the Russian state-controlled media outlet RT and co-owner of Tenet Media.
“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 tells PCMag.
A day earlier, the DOJ alleged that RT had covertly paid millions to US influencers and pundits to produce videos supporting Russian government causes. The money was funneled through Tenet Media, a Tennessee-based company founded by Chen that bankrolled right-wing commentators, including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson.
On YouTube, the Tenet Media channel circulated nearly 2,000 videos, which attracted more than 16 million views. RT allegedly used two other employees, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, to edit content and push pro-Russian narratives through Tenet Media. However, the company never disclosed its Russian ties to viewers or the right-wing influencers on its payroll.
The incident raises concerns that Russia could funnel more money to social media stars to try and influence US politics. A separate court document from US investigators alleges that a Russian government-controlled company called Social Design Agency (SDA) monitors and collects information about many media organizations and more than 2,800 social media influencers. "The US-based influencers accounted for approximately 21% of the accounts being monitored by SDA," the document adds.
In the meantime, Pool and Rubin say they were “victims” of the propaganda campaign rather than complicit, as some critics contend.
“Never at any point did anyone other than I have full editorial control of the show and the contents of the show are often apolitical,” Pool said in a tweet distancing himself from Tenet Media. “Putin is a scumbag, Russia sucks donkey balls,” he added.
Individual channels for Pool, Rubin, and Johnson are still live on YouTube.
The conservative media company Blaze Media also fired Chen as a contributor for her alleged role in the conspiracy, according to Semafor.