How some of the internet's most prominent pro-Trump pundits became paid messengers of Russian propaganda

Tenet Media’s introduction video touched upon many familiar conservative themes: mainstream media was untrustworthy and freedom of speech was under siege. Independent and uncensored voices were sorely needed. It featured six commentators as the faces of its operation; already among some of the most-followed figures in online conservative punditry. Over an atmospheric electronic music track, each presenter made their pitch: Tenet is essential now more than ever before. “Perhaps they take us down individually,” suggested Matt Christiansen from Conservative YouTuber and Podcaster Matt Christiansen in one video clip; it would be harder for the opposition to do this with everyone grouped together as one group. Shortly after uploading their YouTube video — which still only has less than 9,000 views as of November — Tenet found itself at the heart of an unprecedented U.S. government action to combat Russian meddling with 2024 elections. Prosecutors allege two employees of Russia-backed media network RT had laundered nearly $10 million through an entity known as Tenet to six commentators who appeared on its network. Though neither the media company nor commentators were identified by name, their details match that of Tenet and Dave Rubin as well as Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Lauren Southern Tayler Hansen Christiansen. An analysis by NBC News of Tenet videos and government indictments illustrates how Tenet amplified conservative voices who already supported much of what Trump and Russia promoted as part of their overall propaganda goals. Russia has advanced their efforts to manipulate American voters ahead of an election by posting propaganda-laden text posts on social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook, such as those seen during 2016. Russia appears to have updated a decades-old strategy of dispersing propaganda through seemingly independent actors – targeting some of the key authors and creators of an increasingly divisive US political system – through Tenet, however this plan ultimately fell flat. Tenet was charged in an indictment with publishing nearly 2000 videos that have amassed 16 million+ views on YouTube since November 2023, per the indictment. The company struggled for attention in an oversaturated online space and among an electorate that, having consumed years of content polarization online, tends to look for information which affirms their own beliefs. Tenet was left dissatisfied as its commentators failed to rack up significant view counts; company officials vented their frustration in parts of an indictment filed. Five commentators issued statements declaring themselves victims while each asserting they weren’t part of any Russian scheme. Southern has not released a statement or responded to requests from NBC News for comments, nor have any of the commentators replied on Thursday when questioned as to their perception that they had been defrauded and whether or not they plan on giving back any funds they received as compensation from Mr. Cassel’s scams. Tenet and its founders have yet to provide statements and have not responded to NBC News requests for comments about Russian operation creators who claim Tenet deceived them into joining. According to an indictment issued against Tenet founders, at least two creators involved have been “deceived.” Tenet was established by two individuals who remain unknown – Liam Donovan (video producer) and Lauren Tam ( video creator for The Blaze and contributor to Turning Points USA commonly known as Lauren Chen). These founders remain unnamed. Business records demonstrate this fact. “While views expressed in these videos vary significantly, their subject matter and content often aligned with Russia’s goal of sowing division within America in order to lessen opposition against core interests like its ongoing war in Ukraine,” according to prosecutors in their indictment. Influencers as PatriotsBret Schafer, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund who studies disinformation, noted that Russia’s use of American messengers both covert and overt is an effective tactic against America. But Schafer noted that Russia rarely — if ever — could tap people like Pool, Rubin and others who already enjoyed such widespread appeal. Russia has historically used influence campaigns in America by funding news organizations or content producers who create stories “beneficial” to Russia. Schafer noted, however, that this does not equate to pro-Russian content on these shows or platforms, adding: ‘That does not equate to any actual bias,” Schafer commented. Often you’ll see individuals justify taking money from Russia by asserting ‘These are my beliefs; no one told me what to say’.” Russia has proven itself adept at recruiting talent. Finding divisive figures who share Russia’s worldview or who represent opposing views to imperialism – they find ways to support and recruit these figures effectively. Schafer’s description of tactics and aims matched those outlined by internal company documents from Russian firms charged with running the disinformation campaign known as Doppelganger, according to exhibits unsealed on Wednesday from another federal case. According to Russian internal documents, their efforts at influencing Americans prior to the 2020 presidential elections focused on one goal – helping Donald Trump win by exploiting political polarization, using political disinformation tactics such as spreading views that the US should focus its resources more efficiently in its home territory rather than on Ukraine or other ‘problem’ regions such as Syria or Afghanistan. Russian operatives noted in planning documents that it would be futile to foster pro-Russian sentiment: “Justifying Russia would serve no useful purpose or effect; all American politicians and influencers support American supremacy. “But according to these operatives, there was value in exploiting conservative fears such as online censorship and rights encroachments as well as declining standards of living – fears which threaten their “American dream”. Documents highlighted specific issues such as poverty, crime, inflation and unemployment for white Americans as well as privileges enjoyed by people of color (perverts), disabled and people living with HIV; lies spread by media organizations and Democratic party; immigration; Ukraine as potential problems to address. Images used as evidence against two employees of Russia Today.DOJThe videos produced by Tenet Media commentators addressing topics associated with Russia’s Doppelganger campaign spread those exact messages out to millions of subscribers around the globe, furthering Russian interests. Not exactly sure of their level of due diligence prior to accepting what authorities now claim was Russian money from “Eduard Grigoriann”, an imaginary wealthy individual prosecutors say they believed was receiving funds through. At least one of the six commentators requested more information on Grigoriann and after receiving a fake one-page profile agreed to work for Tenet media without reservation, according to the indictment. Over its 10-month existence, its creators would release hundreds of videos. Many were focused on viewing the election with an anti-Trump bias, often attacking President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris; painting former president Trump as being victimized by unfair mainstream media coverage or “deep state,” spreading unsubstantiated conspiracy theories; Tenet had already made its presence known among Republican party supporters despite only recently emerging on the scene. Johnson was one of the former chief creative officers for Turning Point USA’s conservative activist group and enjoyed access to some of America’s most powerful politicians and decision-makers. Johnson interviewed Donald Trump Jr. and Caroline Sunshine from his campaign team in February; twice interviewed Lara Trump (former president’s daughter-in-law and current co-chair of Republican National Committee), Lara interviewed twice between March and June respectively for his channel. Tenet media produced videos featuring Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt praising Johnson’s efforts at building “an incredible, loyal following”. Additional Tenet media videos featured elected GOP officials. Sen. Ted Cruz expressed his opinion of Bud Light’s “woke marketing executives” during an encounter in November while riding back of Johnson’s vehicle. Asked by NBC News about members of Trump’s family and campaign appearing in videos hosted by an entity believed by authorities to have received funding from Russia, Trump campaign spokeswoman Leavitt directed them toward two posts made on social media by Donald himself that criticize Vice President Kamala Harris and Justice Department as trying to interfere in and suppress an election that favors Democrats by “reviving Russia as being my friend – something which is completely FALSE!” Trump posted another piece to Facebook explaining that electing him as president in November would save our elections, our system of justice, Constitution and freedom from undermining by Russia as well as Republicans alike. Some videos from their channel hit upon issues related to undermining trust in United States elections. Johnson stated in one Tenet video from March that election integrity should be the RNC’s central goal, before introducing Scott Presler — a conspiracy theorist responsible for helping organize “stop the steal” rallies before January’s attack on Capitol Hill as well as chairing gays for Trump groups like Gays for Trump (chaired by Gays for Trump co-chair Lauren Southern in Berkeley California in 2017 and chair of Gays for Trump (co-chair by Gays for Trump chair Josh Edelson from Getty Images file “Mass Voter Fraud CONFIRMED from Coast-To-Coast!”). Johnson first created videos for Tenet eight months ago that highlighted an interview with Kari Lake. Another video entitled, “Exposing Federal Lies About January 6th”, included Jacob Chansley (QAnon Shaman). Johnson used Trump’s image from Georgia election interference case as part of both Tenet videos, with one video featuring “Fat Acceptance: Has It Gone Too Far?,” while others bashed progressive causes and culture wars with articles entitled, “EXPLICIT Books OK For Schools?.” Tayler Hansen made headlines this November for his man-on-the-street videos – one of his signature contributions – featuring Tayler in November’s editions of them. Lauren Southern, once widely seen as an alt-right influencer and female propagandist, had some of YouTube’s most watched videos, such as an insightful documentary exploring dating in today’s digital world and commentary about “The Great Replacement,” an anti-immigration conspiracy theory asserting progressive politicians have encouraged illegal immigration so as to win elections. They posted about race, LGBTQ issues, the Israel Gaza War, censorship of conservatives, society collapsing under its weight and promoted baseless fears regarding rampant violent crimes by migrants. And they posted about Ukraine, suggesting its fight against Russian aggression would be an ineffective use of American funds. Tenet was struggling for traction: as per details from the indictment, Tenet operations appeared to have been led at least in part by employees from Russia Today (RT), alongside popular commentator videos posted to its platform and news clips and short Tik-Tok style reels from creators on other platforms such as Tik Tok or Instagram Stories. Indictments have noted these videos could have been posted directly by Russian operatives employed by Russia Today (RT), while these same individuals monitored Tenet’s internal communications and edited content, according to the indictments. Discord channels were set up for individual contributors and teams as well as channels discussing production-related matters such as pitches or concepts, but even with millions in spending power and notable commentators behind it, the indictment revealed how hard the company had it getting traction online, showing just how vulnerable even sophisticated foreign influence campaigns still are to its unpredictable environment. Tenet currently boasts more than 315,000 YouTube subscribers; however, some videos garnered less than 10,000 views each. According to the indictment, one of Tenet’s founders recognized it would be difficult to “recoup” all the funds spent through ads alone, and in an attempt to increase traction Tenet attempted to take advantage of commentator distribution networks by pushing one founder with pressure from an RT employee on other commentators to share Tenet content on X. According to this indictment. “Minimum one share per day; not weekly!” demanded an employee of Radio Television Digital News Service (RT). Sharing Tenet content was never part of commentators contracts according to the indictment, though no details about whether requests had been fulfilled were disclosed. Instead, this provided insights into how Tenet employees took orders from RT. There had also been discussion over posting footage featuring Tucker Carlson touring Russian grocery stores recorded during an interview he conducted with Vladimir Putin during February. Carlson was not named in the indictment. “Tenet wants me to post this,” one employee known as Producer-1 noted in their internal chat forum, but “it feels like overt shilling. Producer-1 gave in and said she would put out an announcement tomorrow after Producer replied to the other founder with her request that “[h]e [was] willing” (Producer-1 wrote). In March, an RT employee requested one of the founders secure an expert who would cover Moscow terror attack from “a Ukraine/US perspective.” One day later, Tenet founder said she spoke with one of these commentators “who is happy” covering it – she wrote back the next day saying one had agreed.