(NewsNation) — A media company linked to six popular right-wing influencers was covertly funded by Russia to spread the Kremlin’s agenda, according to allegations in a Department of Justice indictment filed Wednesday.
The indictment doesn’t name the company specifically, but the “Tennesse-based online content company” is likely TENET Media, which works with six prominent conservative creators.
The company was allegedly secretly funded to create English-language videos with an “interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition” to Russia’s interests.
The DOJ doesn’t allege any wrongdoing by the influencers, some of whom it says were given false information about the source of the company’s funding. Instead, it accuses two employees of RT, a Russian state media company, of funneling nearly $10 million to the company.
Creators who have publicly implicated they were impacted include Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Taylor Hansen and Matt Christiansen, who are all featured on the company’s YouTube channel.
Another influencer, Lauren Southern, is featured on TENET’s website but has not yet publicly acknowledged the indictment.
Tim Pool
“I have been contacted by the FBI as a potential victim of a crime,” Pool shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.
Pool added that he will undergo a voluntary interview, as the “FBI believes I have information relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation.”
Tayler Hansen
Hansen took to X following the news to update his followers that TENET “has ended after the DOJ indictment.”
Hansen also posted a screenshot of a message from YouTube telling him, “We have permanently removed your channel from YouTube. Going forward, you won’t be able to access, possess, or create any other YouTube channels.”
Matt Christiansen
Christiansen hosted a stream on his platforms to make sure “my core audience understands where I’m coming from, and that people don’t think I’m some tricker or some person that was deceiving them or something.”
Alongside the host of Quite Frankly, the Montana-based influencer talked through the development of TENET, his work with the company and the news of the DOJ’s indictment.
“At no point has anyone ever directed me what to say or not to say, and I would never agree to anything otherwise,” he shared on X.
Benny Johnson
“I am the only person who ever had editorial control of my program. Period. My attorneys are engaged. We are being smart. Stay tuned,” Johnson’s X post reads in part.
Dave Rubin
In a post on X, Rubin emphasized his and the other creator’s innocence in the situation.
“I knew absolutely nothing about any of this fraudulent activity. Period. ‘People of the Internet’ was a silly show covering viral videos which ended four months ago,” his tweet reads in part. “The DoJ has never contacted me regarding this matter and I have no intention to comment further.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
