A state-controlled Russian media outlet provided nearly $10 million to “covertly finance and direct” videos produced by a Tennessee-based online content company, the Justice Department alleged, identified by media reports as U.S. right-wing social media network Tenet Media.
A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday (available at this link) charged two employees of RT, formerly known as Russia Today, of using “fake personas and shell companies” to carry out a “secret influence campaign in the United States.” The duo “operated under covert identities” at an American company identified in court documents as “U.S. Company-1.”
CNN and other media outlets said they confirmed that the company in question is Tenet Media, whose affiliated personalities include Benny Johnson and “Culture War Podcast” host Tim Pool, both of whom have millions of followers on YouTube and other platforms.
