Washington's indictment shines a bright light on the dark corners of Russian disinformation operations

The affidavit of an FBI special agent, and the Russian documents attached to it, offer a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a vast Russian network of disinformation.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted two Russians — both employees of state broadcaster RT — accused of illegally funnelling $9.7 million into a Tennessee media company.

The unsealed indictment said the founders of the unidentified company — widely reported to be Tenet Media — knew their funding came from «the Russians.» Far-right influencers hired by the company, including Tim Pool, Benny Johnson and Dave Rubin, have said they were unwitting «victims» of the alleged scheme.

The indictment and its associated documents show a side of Russian influence operations people in the West rarely see, said Roman Osadchuk of the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab in Washington.

Normally, he said, «we're looking at something that surfaces, the open side of things, like what's being published on social media. Here we definitely see something from the inside.

»So this was unique."

The affidavit also reveals the growing sophistication of Russia's disinformation methods, said Robert English, a Russia expert at the University of Southern California at Annenberg.

«It's on the cusp of becoming, you know, a really disturbing, distorting actor in global politics,» he said.

While the indictment doesn't name the Tennessee-based outlet, details in the court document match those of Tenet Media, a company founded by Canadian far-right commentator Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan.

The affidavit supports the the U.S. Department of Justice's request for the seizure of 32 internet domains and includes descriptions of Russian disinformation projects in both