After being dropped by distributors in 2022, the television network formerly known as Russia Today covertly funded a conservative content creation company in Tennessee to spread misinformation, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.

RT employees Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act and to commit money laundering. 

Afanasyeva allegedly used multiple false personalities to post hundreds of videos on the platforms controlled by an entity identified in the indictment as Company 1, which described itself as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.” The description matches language on the website of Tenet Media, which is based in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville. 

The indictment also says the company registered with the Tennessee Secretary of State on May 22, 2023, the same date that state records show a company called Roaming USA Corp. changed its assumed name to Tenet Media. 

The complaint said the company received about 30 wire transfers from foreign entities totaling $9.7 million. The outfit never publicly disclosed that it was funded and directed by RT or registered as an agent of a foreign principal, federal prosecutors said. 

According to the HuffPost’s Yashar Ali, Tenet is owned by Lauren Chen, who is affiliated with Turning Point USA, and her husband, Liam Donovan. Donovan is listed as Tenet’s agent in the filings with the Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office.

A Hargett spokesman declined to say whether the office had received a subpoena from federal investigators.

NEWS

The US Department of Justice alleges that Tenet Media, which has Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, and Dave Rubin on its roster, received $10 million from the Russian government to publish content as part of a Russian influence operation.

Tenet is owned and controlled by Lauren… pic.twitter.com/dx5ttHOwmR

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 4, 2024

The company’s founders allegedly worked together with the defendants to “deceive” two of the site’s prominent commentators, who had 2.4 million and 1.3 million YouTube subscribers, to post the content. Tenet’s roster includes Laura Southern, Tim Pool, Taylor Hansen, Matt Christiansen, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson.

Kalashnikov, Afanasyeva and the company’s founders “worked together to mask U.S. Company 1’s true source of funding — i.e., RT,” the indictment said.

A message left by State Affairs with Tenet through its website was not immediately returned.

The indictments were part of a larger effort by the federal government to crack down on Russian efforts to influence the 2024 election.

“The American people are entitled to know when a foreign power engages in political activities or seeks to influence public discourse,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said. 

More Tennessee connections

RT had Tennessee connections when it was still on the air. Nashville political operative and attorney Steve Gill was a frequent guest. Scottie Nell Hughes worked as an anchor. 

“I’ve never heard of these people, never been aware of anything that they’ve been supposedly operating here in Tennessee,” Gill told The Tennessee Journal. “I’ve got to tell you, if you gave me $10 million, I could definitely affect an election. Better than having some troll bots out there doing ads [in 2016] that apparently some of which were trying to help Hillary [Clinton] and some of which were attacking Trump.

“Again, the whole thing to me looks a little bit light,” Gill added, arguing that intelligence officials improperly downplayed the significance of Hunter Biden’s laptop during the 2020 presidential election, which he likened to “actual election interference.”

Gill said the Biden administration, meanwhile, is “not doing anything against Iran which is actively trying to interfere with the election to defeat Trump because they’d rather have the more pliable Biden administration through Harris.”

He charged the Biden administration is “all about intimidation, silencing opposition, silencing” questioning U.S. policy in areas ranging from Ukraine to vaccine skepticism. 

Gil said he “never received a dime” for his appearances on RT. 

“You know me,” he said. “Do you think anybody’s ever told me what to say?”

He said he has appeared on other outlets as well, including Iranian TV where he has criticized the Iranian government.

“My opinions have been consistent for 35 years,” Gill said with a laugh.

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