The Biden administration’s Department of Justice has indicted two Russian state media employees on allegations that the group took $10 million from Russia and doled it out to U.S. conservative podcasters in order to rope them into spreading propaganda.
The indictment names Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, both employees of the media outlet Russia Today (RT). The DOJ accuses the pair of giving $10 million to a Tennessee-based media company, Tenet Media, after laundering the money through a series of shell companies. The pair has not yet been arrested.
According to the indictment, “company 1,” now known to be Tenet Media (the American company in Tennessee), published almost 2,000 videos on Youtube and X (Twitter) without telling viewers that the Kremlin paid to make the content. The videos themselves were made by other conservative podcasters and show hosts, most of whom have said they too are victims of the scheme, and did not know they were being paid by the Russian government.
Tenet Media describes its operation as a network of “heterodox commentators” who talk about political and cultural issues salient to the western world. Some of the podcasters and creators who have made videos for Tenet include Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Lauren Southern, and others. It is important to note that these creators are not named in the indictment, and have not been charged with any crimes.
They’re also eager to clear their names as rumors and accusations are flying fast and furious at them on social media platforms. For example, Benny Johson said Tenet, a start-up, approached him a year ago to make videos on a freelance basis. His lawyers drew up a standard contract, and Johnson points out he is not indicted and will take legal action against anyone who lies and says he is.
Popular commentator Dave Rubin also issued a statement denying knowledge of the alleged fraud. He said the indictment “clearly shows” that he along with the other podcasters are also victims of the scheme, and he had no idea the money was coming from the Kremlin.
Podcaster Tim Pool put out a similar response, saying he was “deceived” along with others.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Department of Justice will be “aggressive” in response to any attempts by the Russian government to “interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy.”
Russia Today (RT) denies the allegations, and said they sound like the Russia-gate collusion hoax from 2016 that falsely claimed that Donald Trump was working with the former Soviet Union to steal the presidential election.
