Last week, the Justice Department alleged that Russian state media producers funneled nearly $10 million to an unnamed Tennessee-based company, later determined by CNN to be Tenet Media, to create and amplify content that often featured narratives and themes supported by the Kremlin. Tenet Media boasts a slate of high-profile right-wing, pro-Trump commentators including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson and several others.
While the indictment doesn’t directly name or accuse the influencers of wrongdoing, or state that they knew at the time that the money was part of a Russian influence operation, it alleged two employees of RT, the Russian state media propaganda outlet, paid nearly $10 million to hire the “talent” and create social media videos promoting its agenda. All of the figures have said they did not know the funds originated with the Kremlin and had no idea they were being employed for the purpose of amplifying pro-Russia narratives. The influencers all say they are “victims,” and that the FBI has contacted them for voluntary interviews.
In the wake of the stunning accusation, CNN asked representatives for Pool, Rubin and Johnson whether they would turn over or donate the money they were paid. None of them have publicly detailed the payments they allegedly received as part of the foreign campaign or responded to CNN requests on the matter.
Based on the information revealed in the case so far, the influencers are not obligated to forfeit the money, said Brandon Van Grack, a lead prosecutor in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s 2016 election influence.
In an interview following the indictment, Pool insisted the amount he was paid — $100,000 per video — was “around market value for offers we had already received,” and described it as “inconsequential” to his lifestyle.
“We’ve actually never done anything with it,” he told conservative host Ben Shapiro. “I would say the overwhelming majority of the money has just not gone anywhere.”
While Pool noted he had been urged by social media users to give the money back, he said he was consulting with his legal team on the case.
But the secret payments lay bare how susceptible the new media ecosystem is to infiltration, where independent creators operate with few guardrails and little transparency. And while the personalities hired by Tenet regularly attack the traditional news media, the payments reveal the figures’ lack of accountability and integrity befitted to traditional journalistic outlets.
