SAN FRANCISCO — YouTube has removed several right-wing political channels associated with allegations from the Justice Department claiming that Russian government officials were financing right-wing influencers in the U.S. to create content. The video-sharing platform, owned by Google, announced the termination of Tenet Media along with four other channels operated by conservative media figure Lauren Chen as part of its “ongoing efforts to combat coordinated influence operations,” according to a spokesperson’s statement on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department charged two employees from RT, the Russian government-affiliated media organization formerly known as Russia Today, for allegedly providing illegal funding to a media company based in Tennessee. While Tenet Media was not explicitly mentioned in the indictment, phrases from that media organization’s YouTube channel referenced in the charges suggest it may be the subject of the investigation. Some right-wing influencers have subsequently identified Tenet as the implicated organization.
Tennessee business records identify Lauren Chen and her husband, Liam Donovan, as the owners of Tenet Media. Following the indictment, Blaze TV, a conservative media outlet, reportedly ended Chen’s contributor contract on Thursday. Prosecutors assert that the founders of the media company indicted were aware that their funding had connections to Moscow and openly acknowledged this in private communications.
Tenet Media did not respond to a request for comment made through its website. YouTube was a significant platform for the content produced by Tenet Media and remains popular among conservative media figures, including former collaborators like Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, and Dave Rubin. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, YouTube removed RT’s channels, which had previously enjoyed widespread popularity on the platform.