In late 2023, a year before the US presidential election, a new US-based media startup announced itself online. Founded by Canadian rightwing commentator Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan, Tenet Media promised followers it would be “uncensored, unapologetic and unafraid” – and an antidote to the mainstream media. To do that, it signed up six hugely popular conservative influencers to make video content, luring them with hefty pay cheques.
Topics covered ranged from the ridiculous (Protesters are all ugly) to the more sinister (The right to vote: Should it be limited?), but most had a common purpose: to get viewers frothing at the mouth. The content was piped out at a rapid rate – 560 full-length videos and approximately 1,400 short-form clips in less than a year. But Tenet Media’s downfall would come almost as swiftly as its rise.
In September 2024, the US Department of Justice released the findings of an FBI investigation alleging that Russian state broadcaster RT paid a Tennessee-based media company $10m (£7.4m) to “create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging”. The indictment didn’t name the company involved, but the details were specific enough for people to deduce that it was Tenet Media. YouTube swiftly deleted the company’s channel.
