type: timeline_event The Department of Justice unsealed a federal indictment on September 4, 2024, revealing that RT (Russia Today) employees had covertly funneled nearly $10 million through Tenet Media, a Tennessee-based company, to pay prominent American conservative influencers for content advancing Russian interests. The indictment charged two RT employees—Kostya Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva—with conspiracy to violate foreign agent registration requirements and money laundering. The DOJ simultaneously sanctioned RT and its parent company, describing the network as a key tool of Russian state influence operations rather than a genuine journalistic outlet.
The indictment detailed how RT employees used shell companies in Turkey, the UAE, and Mauritius to obscure the Russian origin of payments that constituted approximately 90% of Tenet Media's total bank deposits. Tenet Media contracted with prominent right-wing podcasters including Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Lauren Chen, and Liam Donovan. Pool alone reportedly received approximately $100,000 per video. The influencers collectively commanded millions of followers across YouTube, Spotify, and social media, providing RT with effective distribution of Russian messaging to American audiences who would never watch Russian state television.
The operation produced more than 2,000 videos accumulating 16 million YouTube views. Content created through the arrangement amplified political division, promoted narratives favorable to Russian foreign policy objectives, and in some cases directly echoed Russian government talking points on Ukraine and U.S. politics. The DOJ stressed that the influencers themselves appeared unaware that their payments originated from the Russian government, though they continued receiving funds without required FARA registration. The case exposed how Russia had evolved its influence operations from building its own media presence (RT, Sputnik) to embedding messaging within trusted American creator ecosystems—a more sophisticated and harder-to-detect approach to information warfare.