History of Tenet Media in Timeline

"Tenet Media, established in January 2022 by Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan, is a US-based right-wing media organization. The platform, self-described as a "network of heterodox commentators that focus on western political and cultural issues", features right-wing influencers such as Matt Christiansen, Tayler Hansen, Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Lauren Southern.

January 2022: Tenet Media Founded

In January 2022, Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan established Tenet Media, an American right-wing media company. The company promotes itself as a "network of heterodox commentators that focus on western political and cultural issues".

February 2023: Tenet Media Hires Influencers with Russian Funds

Around February 2023, Tenet Media, using the alias of a fictitious investor named Eduard Grigoriann to conceal the origin of the Russian funding, sought to recruit two prominent right-wing commentators. These commentators, known as "Commentator-1" and "Commentator-2," had substantial followings on YouTube with 2.4 million and 1.3 million subscribers, respectively. Both commentators agreed to the offer and were subsequently paid over $400,000 per month to create political content for Tenet. By fall 2023, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, the two Russian nationals facing charges, were actively participating in Tenet's daily operations.

November 2023: Tenet Media Public Launch

Around November 2023, Tenet Media made its public launch and quickly amassed over 16 million views on its YouTube channel. The company's content primarily consists of commentary on current events and political issues within the U.S., such as immigration, inflation, and domestic and foreign policy.

2024: Tenet Media DOJ Investigation

In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into Tenet Media for suspected involvement in a Russian influence operation. The DOJ alleged that two employees of Russia Today (RT) funneled approximately $10 million to the company to disseminate Russian propaganda to U.S. audiences.