Russian Funding of US and Canadian Political Influencers
Information Incident
Last updated: November 6, 2024
Overview | Updates | Timeline | Key Contacts
Overview
Charges: On September 4, the United States Department of Justice released an indictment against two Russian nationals, alleging that they funded a media company – since identified as Tenet Media – to spread Russian propaganda on social media.
Canadian involvement: Tenet Media’s owners, Canadian influencer Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan, allegedly accepted almost $10 million USD from the Russian-government funded media outlet RT in exchange for promoting Kremlin-approved narratives through Tenet’s network of American and Canadian online personalities.
Why it’s important: Russian disinformation campaigns are a known threat to the Canadian information ecosystem. The scrutiny of and evidence against Tenet Media joins a growing list of Russian interference efforts in Canada.
Incident Updates
Incident Timeline
Spring 2021
Lauren Chen is said to have begun working for the parent company of RT.
19 January 2022
Tenet Media is incorporated in Tennessee.
March 2022
RT is banned in Canada, the United States and other countries, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
December 2022
Chen (identified as Founder-1 in the indictment) starts working for “Eduard Grigoriann” to launch a new Youtube channel.
Spring 2023
Chen, Donovan and RT operatives work to recruit headlining names to be part of the network.
May 2023
Tenet Media applies for its current operating name.
November 2023
Tenet Media publicly launches. Over the following 10 months, it posts over 2000 videos on YouTube, accumulating more than 16 million views.
4 September 2024
The DoJ unseals its indictment.
5 September 2024
Tenet Media and Lauren Chen’s other channels are removed from YouTube.
Blaze Media fires Chen. Turning Point USA removes Chen’s profile from their website.
6 September 2024
Canadian Public Safety Minister announces that the federal government is collaborating with the United States on the issue.
10 September 2024
Canadian MP Ron McKinnon requests for the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to launch an emergency meeting to investigate the issue.
12 September 2024
US Secretary of State announces that the US, Canada and Britain will be part of a joint diplomatic effort to fight Russia’s efforts.
13 September 2024
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister issues a statement condemning RT’s activities and states that Canada will not tolerate any foreign interference.
16 September 2024
Meta bans RT’s accounts on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, along with banning other Russian state media networks.
10 October 2024
Canadian Public Safety and National Security Committee passes a motion to summon Chen to appear before them.
16 October 2024
Justin Trudeau, under oath, alleges that American political commentator Tucker Carlson is funded by RT.
5 November 2024
Lauren Chen stands before the Canadian Public Safety and National Security Committee and refuses to answer many questions from MPs.
5 November 2024
Canadian Public Safety and National Security Committee passes a motion to refer Chen to the House of Commons for breach of privilege.
5 November 2024
Canadian Public Safety and National Security Committee passes a motion to summon Liam Donovan and Lauren Southern to appear before them.
Key Contacts
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Alexei Abrahams, Digital Lead, Media Ecosystem Observatory (alexei.abrahams@mcgill.ca)
Expertise: Social network analysis/Digital trace, media observatoriesAengus Bridgman, Director, Media Ecosystem Observatory (aengus.bridgman@mcgill.ca)
Expertise: Political science, social network analysisJennie Phillips, Project Director, Project on Infrastructure Ecosystem Resilience, Media Ecosystem Observatory, (jennie.phillips@mcgill.ca) Expertise : Research Project lead/research design
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Derek Ruths, Data scientist, Network Dynamics Lab (derek@derekruths.com)
Expertise: Social network analysis, social media analysis, hate speech, online user behavior studies
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Elizabeth Dubois, Director, PolCommTech Research Lab (elizabeth.dubois@uottawa.ca)
Expertise: Bots
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Fenwick Mckelvey, co-Director, Applied AI Institute (fenwick.mckelvey@concordia.ca) Expertise: Generative AI
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Philip Mai, Senior Researcher and Co-Director, Social Media Lab, (philip.mai@torontomu.ca)
Expertise : Social network analysis