Far-Right Commentators Allegedly Tied to Russian Propaganda

A far-right media group representing Anti-LGBTQ+ influencers like Tim Pool and Dave Rubin was allegedly funded by a Russian state media group, according to an indictment from the Department of Justice released last Wednesday. The indictment alleges that RT, formerly Russia Today, funded Tenet Media, the parent company of Pool and Rubin, in order to spread disinformation that favors Russia and Vladimir Putin.

RT is a state-funded Russian media outlet. It was sanctioned and subsequently banned in the U.S. in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The indictment alleges RT and its employees Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva “covertly funded” Tenet Media to the tune of $10 million. This funding allegedly went to producing far-right content aimed at turning U.S. voters against Ukraine and encouraging them to vote for Trump in the 2024 election.

While the indictment does not acknowledge any Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric published by Tenet Media or RT, Putin continues to suppress and prohibit queer life in Russia. Tenet Media was founded in 2022 by business partners Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan. The media group promotes anti-LGBTQ+ and xenophobic talking points. Its social media stars are known to push homophobic and transphobic content, despite Dave Rubin being gay himself.

The indictment does not explicitly name Tenet Media, Dave Rubin, or Tim Pool. However, the details within the indictment line up with public knowledge surrounding the influencers and their management company. For example, the indictment alleges that Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva scouted unnamed commentators who “respectively have over 2.4 million and 1.3 million YouTube subscribers.” These details match the subscriber numbers of Rubin and Pool. The far-right commentators denied having any prior knowledge of RT‘s influence in their content. The indictment supports this as it alleges RT used the name “Eduard Grigoriann” to deceive Rubin and Pool.

Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are the alleged masterminds behind this conspiracy. After scouting and contracting the commentators, the employees allegedly joined Tenet Media in late 2023 as contributors. The indictment alleges that Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva utilized various pseudonyms in order to monitor the content being put out by Tenet Media and its stars.

RT and its employees are indicted for money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. This indictment does not list Tenet Media or its personalities as defendants.

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