Right-Wing Influencers Tied to Russian Disinfo Campaign Say They Are ‘Victims’

After the Department of Justice issued an indictment Wednesday accusing Russia of using American right-wing commentators to peddle propaganda ahead of the November election, several public figures linked to the scandal have spoken out, claiming that they are “victims” of the alleged influence operation.

According to the indictment, two employees at Russian state media RT have been secretly funding a Tennessee-based media company with nearly $10 million, laundered through foreign shell entities. The company allegedly paid some commentators hundreds of thousands of dollars a month to make videos—mainly about political issues—for its platforms, and the two RT employees allegedly deceived the commentators about where the company’s funding came from.

One of the company’s co-founders was also allegedly paid by ANO TV-Novosti, the parent organization of RT, to write opinion articles published on the news site, according to the indictment. 

While the indictment did not name the media company or any of the commentators, observers quickly noted that its descriptions matched that of Tenet Media, a right-wing content company founded in 2022, and its contributors. Tenet posts videos promoting conservative narratives on issues including immigration, inflation, and gender—many of which were “edited, posted, and directed”  by one of the RT employees, according to the indictment.

“While the views expressed in the videos are not uniform, the subject matter and content of the videos are often consistent with the Government of Russia’s interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Government of Russia interests, such as its ongoing war in Ukraine,” the indictment said. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Wednesday that “the Justice Department will be aggressive in countering and disrupting attempts by the Russian government, or any other malign actor, to interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy.”

In the wake of the bombshell indictment suggesting their unwitting involvement in spreading disinformation, some of the commentators associated with Tenet Media have posted responses on social media. They’ve emphasized that they maintained editorial control over their content but that, if the allegations are true, then they are “victims.” Here’s what they’ve said. 

Benny Johnson

Benny Johnson, a 37-year-old former BuzzFeed plagiarist-turned-conservative commentator with nearly 2.4 million YouTube subscribers, wrote on X that a year ago his company negotiated a “standard, arms length deal” with a media startup that was later terminated. Johnson is a regular host on Tenet videos, with his latest video published on Wednesday. 

“We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme,” he said.

Dave Rubin

“These allegations clearly show that I and other commentators were the victims of this scheme,” Dave Rubin, a regular host of Tenet’s YouTube videos, wrote on X to his 1.5 million followers. “I knew absolutely nothing about any of this fraudulent activity. Period.”

Rubin is also the creator and host of the YouTube political talk show The Rubin Report, which has 2.5 million subscribers, and has described himself as a former left-leaning progressive before becoming a conservative  

Tim Pool

Tim Pool, the 38-year-old right-wing commentator and host of Tenet’s podcast series “The Culture War with Tim Pool,” wrote on X, where he has over 2 million followers, that the podcast “existed well before any license agreement with Tenet and it will continue to exist after any such agreement expires.”

“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. “Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims.”

Lauren Southern

Lauren Southern, a Canadian alt-right activist and commentator who has over 710,000 YouTube subscribers and was a regular host of Tenet videos, had initially remained silent about the DOJ indictment, which observers had linked her to. But she posted a statement to X on Sunday to say that she was “not accused of any crimes” and that she had not been aware of the alleged influence operation outlined in the indictment. 

“I believe I have done nothing wrong,” Southern said. “I always put significant efforts into making original and thoughtful videos. My contract gave me full editorial control of all my content.”

She also pointed to “incorrect” reporting by CNN—which has since been updated—that previously suggested Southern was an alias for fellow Canadian conservative commentator Lauren Chen, an RT contributor who co-founded Tenet Media with her husband Republican strategist Liam Donovan. YouTube said on Thursday that it would take down the Tenet Media account, along with four other channels operated by Chen, whose contract with Glenn Beck’s Blaze Media was also terminated after the indictment came out. “We are two seperate [sic] people,” Southern clarified.

Tayler Hansen

Tayler Hansen, another regular host on Tenet, wrote on X, where he has over 173,000 followers, that the allegations “come as a complete shock.”

“I want to be as clear as possible, I was never directed to report on any topic and had complete freedom and control over my reporting at all times,” he said, adding that with the election coming up this is “a big smear job against an uncensored, unapologetic, and America first media company.”

He also appeared to mock the DOJ indictment in another post, with a screenshot of his video on Tenet, sarcastically describing his coverage of a protest as “Russian election disinformation effort.”

Matt Christiansen

Matt Christiansen, a conservative YouTuber with over 235,000 subscribers, acknowledged in a live stream on Wednesday that he was referenced in the DOJ document as “Commentator-6.” 

“If this was some big propaganda op, phenomenally bad job,” he said, adding that there was no evidence of Russian influence during the company’s operation. “I was not duped, wittingly or unwittingly. Everyone’s been honest with me, as far as I’m aware.”