9 September 2024

Rumble — an extreme right-wing video-sharing platform that has boasted Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance as an investor — has promoted multiple videos in its “editor picks“ section from Tenet Media, a right-wing media operation allegedly funded by the Russian government to spread propaganda.

...[A] federal indictment was unsealed that alleges “a Tennessee-based online content creation company" received “nearly $10 million from employees of Russia Today (RT), a Russian state-backed media company.” Reporting has subsequently identified the content creation company as Tenet Media, which employed prominent MAGA influencers. Attorney General Merrick Garland said it was part of “a scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.” The indictment also alleges that the founders of Tenet Media, right-wing influencer Lauren Chen and her husband, Liam Donovan, were aware of their funding source and that RT staff was “involved in the firm’s editorial efforts.” 

YouTube removed Tenet Media and Chen’s channels following the indictment, saying the action was part of the platform’s “ongoing efforts to combat coordinated influence operations.” Tenet Media also reportedly shut down.

As of publication of this article, Tenet Media and its content are still available on Rumble. 

A Media Matters review also found that Rumble promoted Tenet Media multiple times in recent months, featuring videos from the company’s channel in its “editor picks” section. In its source code, the platform describes its “editor picks” section as “the absolute real best” of Rumble...