According to media reports, Tennessee-based Tenet Media was identified as the target of the RT plan
US indicts RT employees over alleged secret financing of right-wing media
A Russian state media outlet has provided nearly $10 million to “secretly” finance and direct videos produced by a Tennessee-based online content company, the Justice Department has alleged. According to media reports, the company has been identified as the American right-wing social media network Tenet Media.
A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday (available at this link ) accused two employees of RT, formerly known as Russia Today, of using “fake personas and front companies” to carry out a “covert influence campaign in the United States.” The duo “operated under covert identities” at a U.S. company identified in court documents as “US Company-1.” CNN and other media outlets said they have confirmed that the company in question is Tenet Media, whose affiliates include personalities Benny Johnson and “Culture War Podcast” host Tim Pool, both of whom have millions of followers on YouTube and other platforms.
According to the DOJ, the two RT employees spoofed their identities and “posted and directed hundreds of videos through US Company-1” to multiple services, including TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube. “Since the public launch in or around November 2023, US Company-1 has posted nearly 2,000 videos that have been viewed more than 16 million times on YouTube alone,” federal authorities said.
