YouTube terminates five right-wing channels linked to the DOJ’s Russia indictments

YouTube confirmed its termination of five right-wing political channels believed to be connected to the Department of Justice’s Russia-linked US media indictments this week. The platform pulled the channel of Tenet Media, which CNN reported to be the unnamed company implicated in the indictment. The DOJ accused Russian operatives of paying the media organization to spread disinformation designed to influence the 2024 US elections.

A YouTube spokesperson confirmed the takedown and provided a statement to Engadget. “Following an indictment from the US Department of Justice and after careful review, we are terminating the Tenet Media channel and four channels operated by its owner Lauren Chen as part of our ongoing efforts to combat coordinated influence operations,” the company statement reads.

According to YouTube, the investigation into the situation is ongoing, and the company will evaluate whether further actions are warranted as new information emerges. The company says it terminated over 4,000 YouTube channels in Q2 2024 as part of investigations into Russia-linked influence operations. YouTube works with Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) to identify bad actors and deplatform their channels and accounts accordingly.

On Wednesday, the DOJ indicted two employees of RT (formerly Russia Today), a Kremlin-backed media outlet. They were accused of illegally funding a Tennessee-backed media organization, now all but officially confirmed as Tenet Media. DOJ prosecutors allege in the indictment that the media company’s founders knew their funding came from the Russian government. Tenet Media is owned by Chen and her husband, Liam Donovan.

The Washington Post reports that YouTube was Tenet’s preferred platform for spreading propaganda videos aimed at US conservatives and featuring popular right-wing pundits. Those working with the organization included Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and Dave Rubin. The channels have even featured appearances from former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and RNC Chair Lara Trump. Pool and Rubin have reportedly denied knowledge that the Russian government was behind Tenet’s funding.