The YouTube channel for Tenet Media, a right-wing media outlet the Justice Department alleges is funded by Russia, was removed from the video-sharing platform Friday, three years after the company was founded by Lauren Chen, a contributor for a Russia state-run media network and a conservative video host.
The right-wing media outlet was tied to a recent Justice Department indictment alleging Russia ... [+]
Chen founded Tenet Media with Liam Donovan—who identifies himself as Chen’s husband on Instagram—on Jan. 19, 2022, though Tennessee business records identify Chen under the name “Lauren Tam.”
Tenet Media, though not directly named by the DOJ, was accused earlier this week of being funded by the Kremlin in a larger effort to get right-wing influencers to push pro-Russia propaganda on social media.
YouTube removed at least four channels associated with Chen, including her main channel and a pop culture channel, Mediaholic, after “careful review” by the site and its ongoing investigation to “combat influence operations,” the company told Forbes.
RT, a Russian state-run media outlet, lists Chen as a “political and social commentator” who was born in Canada and raised in Hong Kong before she “came to the U.S. for university,” indicating she has appeared on Fox News, Newsmax and The Daily Wire, among other media groups.
On X, Chen—who was not named or alluded to by the DOJ—has posted praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticism for President Joe Biden, who Chen said “could not finish a cohesive sentence” while Putin could give a “two-hour dissertation on Russia’s history and its place on the world stage.”
Chen also identifies herself as a video host for Blaze Media, a conservative media organization that reportedly terminated Chen’s contract shortly after the DOJ’s indictment.
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580,788. That’s how many followers Chen has on X. Tenet Media’s YouTube channel had about 316,000 subscribers before it was taken down.
RT, formerly known as Russia Today, was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for an alleged disinformation campaign by the Kremlin intended to influence an American audience. The agency claims RT started recruiting American influencers earlier this year to support the campaign, and used a fake company to disguise any ties to the Russian government. RT’s former U.S.-based broadcasting firm was forced to register as a foreign agent for Russia in 2017, after the DOJ determined the outlet aided Russia’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 election. Several employees of the outlet have been charged by the U.S. with similar election meddling efforts in recent years.
The Justice Department filed charges earlier this week against a Tennessee-based company “Company-1” that allegedly operated a Kremlin-led disinformation campaign. While not directly named, the DOJ notes “Company-1” was similarly founded on Jan. 19, 2022, while other right-wing commentators identified the outlet as Tenet. Six media influencers linked to Tenet Media subsequently took to social media, suggesting they were victims in the alleged Russian scheme while others, like Tim Pool, argued they had “full editorial control.” The DOJ’s indictment indicated “Commentator-2,” who was identified as most likely being Pool, was unaware of the Kremlin’s backing of Tenet Media.