San Francisco: YouTube has removed several right-wing political channels, including Tenet Media, following accusations that Russian government employees paid U.S. influencers to create content. These actions are part of YouTube’s ongoing efforts to stop coordinated influence operations on its platform.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted two employees from RT (Russia Today), a Russian state-backed media organization. They are accused of secretly funding a Tennessee-based media company to promote Russian interests. Although Tenet Media was not directly named in the DOJ indictment, quotes from the indictment suggest it was the targeted media organization.
Lauren Chen, a conservative influencer, and her husband, Liam Donovan, are listed as the owners of Tenet Media, according to Tennessee business records. YouTube terminated Chen’s channels, including Tenet Media and four others, as part of its actions against such influence operations.
Chen also lost her contract with Blaze TV, a conservative media network, as a result of these accusations. The indictment alleges that the media company founders knew their financial support was coming from Russia and admitted this in private conversations.
YouTube confirmed that it had taken down the channels associated with Tenet Media and Lauren Chen. The video platform has been a popular outlet for right-wing content creators, including figures like Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, and Dave Rubin, who have worked with Tenet.
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After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, YouTube had already removed RT’s channels from its platform globally. Although YouTube is one of the few Western social media platforms still accessible in Russia, the Russian government has recently started to limit access to the site, reducing the video quality for users in the country.
YouTube’s decision to terminate these right-wing channels comes in response to serious allegations linking them to Russian influence efforts. The DOJ is continuing its investigation, while YouTube remains focused on preventing foreign interference on its platform.
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