How Russian operatives covertly hired U.S. influencers to create viral videos

Federal officials have accused Russia of using unwitting right-wing American influencers in its quest to spread Kremlin propaganda ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department charged two employees of RT, the Russian state media broadcaster, in a scheme to secretly fund and direct the production of social media videos that racked up millions of views.

The RT staffers, named in the indictment as Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, have been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They’re accused of funneling nearly $10 million to an unnamed Tennessee company that contracted with online influencers with big audiences.

“The company never disclosed to the influencers or to their millions of followers its ties to RT and the Russian government,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Wednesday.

Details in the indictment match Nashville-based Tenet Media, including its website description: “a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.”

Tenet was founded in 2022 by Lauren Chen, a conservative Canadian YouTuber, and her husband, Liam Donovan, whose X profile describes him as president of Tenet Media. Chen hosts a show on Glenn Beck’s BlazeTV and is a contributor to right-wing activist group Turning Point USA. She wrote opinion pieces for RT in 2021 and 2022.

According to the indictment, the Tennessee company’s founders worked with Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva — whom they knew were Russian — to recruit influencers to make videos that were published across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X. The indictment says its nearly 2,000 YouTube videos amassed more than 16 million