US Internet Influencer Linked To Russian Election Scheme Fired From Blaze Media: Report

And YouTube took down several right-wing channels connected to the allegations by the Justice Department

Russian influence — Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray speak at the Justice Department on Thursday about the threat posed by Russian operatives trying to influence the 2024 election. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Conservative website Blaze Media has fired Lauren Chin who was implicated in a Justice Department indictment accusing two employees of a Russian-controlled news site of funneling millions of dollars to a Tennessee company to influence the 2024 presidential election.

"Lauren Chen was an independent contractor, whose contract has been terminated," Blaze Media CEO Tyler Cardon told Semafor.

Chen and her husband are co-founders of Tenet Media, the Tennessee-based company that paid right-wing creators to produce videos that spread Russian propaganda intended to "amplify domestic divisions in the United States," the Justice Department said.

Chen contributed videos to Blaze TV, an arm of Blaze Media, Semafor reported.

She and her husband, Liam Donovan, were not named specifically in the indictment, but were referred to as the co-founders of Tenet Media, which matches the indictment description of "Company 1," which has been confirmed by CNN to be Tenet.

Chen did not respond to messages from Semafor for comment.

YouTube also took down a number of right-wing channels, including Tenet Media and four other channels run by Chen, as part of the company's "ongoing efforts to combat coordinated influence operations," the Washington Post reported.

The indictment charged the two employees of RT, also known as Russia Today - Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva - with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, saying they spent nearly $10 million to fund Tenet Media so it could churn out pro-Russian information on TikTok, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Since November 2023, the company posted about 2,000 videos that attracted 16 million views on YouTube alone.

The videos provided commentary about issues like immigration, inflation to sow discord in the U.S. and prop up Russian talking points. At the same time, they parroted the Kremlin's stance on Ukraine.

Other right-wing influences, including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson, unknowingly worked for Tenet Media to make the videos.

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