Benny Johnson And Tim Pool: Who Are They? Things To Know About The Six Right-Wing Commentators The DOJ Claims Received Russian Funding.

According to an indictment made public on Wednesday, a group of Russian propagandists allegedly utilized a content development company in Tennessee as a means of infiltrating American audiences with propaganda supported by the Kremlin.

Two Russian nationals who worked for the state-run media organization Russia Today were charged with conspiring to launder almost $10 million to an online content creation company in Tennessee so that the company could post English-language videos on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X, and other social media platforms. According to the indictment, the company's more than 2,000 movies that were uploaded in the previous ten months had received over 16 million views just on YouTube.

Although the indictment's characteristics match those of Tennessee-based Tenet Media, the Tennessee corporation is not named in the document, which was unsealed in the federal court for the Southern District of New York.

According to the indictment, the business referred to itself as "a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues" on its website. The similar message may be found on the webpage of Tenet Media, a corporation based in Tennessee. According to the indictment, the Tennessee-based business was established around January 19, 2022, which is consistent with information from the Secretary of State's office in Tennessee. According to the indictment, on May 22, 2023, the business submitted an application to the Tennessee Department of State to perform business.

Reporters from Tennessee have contacted requests for comments to commentators listed on Tenet Media's website as well as filed a message through the submission form on the company's website.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the two suspects are Elena Afanasyeva, 27, also known as Lena, and Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, also known as Kostya. They are accused of conspiring to launder money and of breaking the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

According to the announcement, both Afanasyeva and Kalashnikov are still at large.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated in the news release, "The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country's free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts. Our investigation into this matter remains ongoing."

"Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and RT's interference in the U.S. elections," Russia Today ridiculed the accusations, according to Reuters. 

According to the federal indictment, Russia Today was compelled to suspend official activities in the US, Canada, the UK, and the EU following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The indictment stated that as a result, Russia Today established a "whole empire of covert projects," in the words of its editor-in-chief, with the goal of influencing public opinion among "Western audiences." The internet content development company based in Tennessee was one of the projects. The business was established in November 2023.

According to the indictment, a large number of the films included commentary on current affairs and topics including immigration, inflation, and US foreign and domestic policies.

It is said that Afanasyeva posted and instructed other employees of the Tennessee-based corporation to post content that supported the objectives of the Russian government. As stated in the press release, Afanasyeva ordered one of the Tennessee company's founders to place the blame on Ukraine and the United States following the terrorist attack on a Moscow music venue on March 22 that claimed the lives of over 130 people.

Russia Today sent wire transactions totaling around $9.7 million, or almost 90% of the business's total bank deposits, to the Tennessee corporation between October 2023 and August 2024. According to the news release, the wires originated from shell firms in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Mauritius and claimed that the funds were for the purchase of equipment.

As per the indictment, the two founders of the Tennessee-based company concealed the genuine source of money from two commentators by pretending that the funding came from a private investor called "Eduard Grigoriann," who is a fictitious identity.

The case is being looked into by the FBI.

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray stated in the press release that "covert attempts to sow division and trick Americans into unwittingly consuming foreign propaganda represents attacks on our democracy." "Today's measures demonstrate that foreign adversaries like Russia will continue to encounter the FBI as long as they wage hostile influence activities. We will keep doing everything in our power to reveal the covert involvement of foreign enemies like Russia and thwart their attempts to stifle free speech in our society.

According to the indictment, the Tennessee corporation failed to register with the attorney general as an agent of a foreign principal as required by law and failed to disclose to its viewers that it was funded by Russia Today.

If found guilty of conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the two defendants may serve up to five years in jail and twenty years in prison on the conspiracy to commit money laundering charge.