Russian propagandists used a Tennessee content company to spread disinformation

An indictment unsealed Wednesday alleges that a Tennessee content creation company was the tool used by a team of Russian propagandists to infiltrate American audiences with Kremlin-backed messages.

Two Russian nationals working for Russia Today, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, have been charged with funneling nearly $10 million to a Tennessee-based online content creation company to post English-language videos on social media sites including TikTok, Instagram, X and YouTube. The company’s more than 2,000 videos posted in the past 10 months have been viewed more than 16 million times on YouTube alone, according to the indictment.

The indictment, unsealed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, does not identify the Tennessee company, but descriptions in the indictment match those of Tennessee-based Tenet Media.

The indictment claims the company describes itself on its website as “a network of heterodox commentators focusing on Western political and cultural issues.” Tennessee-based Tenet Media has the same message on its homepage. The indictment claims the Tennessee-based company was incorporated on or about January 19, 2022, which matches records from the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office. The indictment says the company applied to the Tennessee Department of State to conduct business on May 22, 2023.

Tennessean reporters submitted a request for comment to the submission form on Tenet Media’s website and emailed requests for comment to commenters listed on Tenet Media’s website.

The two suspects are Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, also known as Kostya, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27, also known as Lena, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release. They are charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the statement, both Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are at large.

“The Department of Justice will not tolerate an authoritarian regime’s attempts to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas to covertly advance its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the news release.

In response to the allegations, Russia Today mockingly responded: “Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and RT’s interference in the US election,” the outlet told Reuters.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia Today was forced to cease formal operations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union, the federal indictment said.

“In response, Russia Today created, in the words of its editor-in-chief, an ‘entire empire of covert projects’ designed to shape public opinion in ‘Western audiences,’” the indictment says. One such project was the Tennessee-based online content creation company Russia Today. The company launched in November 2023.

Many of the videos contained commentary on events and issues such as immigration, inflation and U.S. domestic and foreign policy, according to the indictment.

Afanasyeva allegedly posted and directed other staff members at the Tennessee company to post content that aligned with Russian government goals. According to the press release, after the March 22 terrorist attack at a Moscow music venue that killed more than 130 people, Afanasyeva asked one of the Tennessee company’s founders to blame the attack on Ukraine and the United States.

Between October 2023 and August 2024, Russia Today sent wire transfers to the Tennessee company totaling approximately $9.7 million, which accounted for approximately 90% of the company’s total bank deposits. The transfers originated from shell companies in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius and were attributed to the purchase of electronic goods, the press release said.

The indictment alleges that the two founders of the Tennessee company concealed the true source of the company’s funding when they hired two commentators, falsely claiming that their funding came from a private investor named “Eduard Grigoriann,” a fictitious character.

The FBI is investigating the case.

“Covert attempts to sow division and trick Americans into unwittingly consuming foreign propaganda represent attacks on our democracy,” FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said in the press release. “Today’s actions show that as long as foreign adversaries like Russia continue to engage in hostile influence campaigns, they will continue to run afoul of the FBI. We will continue to do everything we can to expose the hidden hand of foreign adversaries like Russia and thwart their efforts to intrude on our free and open society.”

The Tennessee company failed to disclose to its viewers that it was funded by Russia Today or register with the attorney general as an agent of a foreign principal, as required by law, according to the indictment.

The two defendants face up to 20 years in prison each on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and up to five years on one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, if convicted.

Evan Mealins is The Tennessean’s justice reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter. @EvanMetoLineage.

This article originally appeared on the Nashville Tennessean: Justice Department charges Russians who used Tennessee company to spread disinformation