Pro-Trump Media Firm Abruptly Folds After Russia Scheme Exposed
newrepublic.com
Tenet Media has met a hilarious demise.

Tenet Media is no more.

The conservative media network folded Thursday night, just one day after the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment accusing it of being funded by Russian state-controlled media, according to Tenet Media field reporter Tayler Hansen.

The indictment accused Tenet and its founders of receiving nearly $10 million from employees of Russia Today as part of “a scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.

  • InternetUser2012@lemmy.today
    208·
    2 months ago

    Where’s all the “there’s no Russian interference” people at now? Are they doing the mental gymnastics on how they’re going to flip this as being the Democrats fault?

      • Eldritch@lemmy.worldEnglish
        35·
        2 months ago

        That we know of. This was an extremely simple and silly scheme that was exposed. It wasn’t even the first. And it won’t be the last. Plus there will be a few slightly more competent ones that we may never know about in our lifetime.

    • eRac@lemmings.world
      17·
      2 months ago

      Babylon Bee promptly started posting ‘satire’ pieces about Clinton whining about Russian interference the moment the news dropped. The right’s response appears to be to connect this to the prior cases, which they already got people to believe a false narrative about.

    • Bonesince1997@lemmy.world
      17·
      2 months ago

      These people were too busy creating some bullshit called Trump derangement syndrome and accusing people of having it. They don’t live in reality and want to drag us down with them.

    • vegeta@lemmy.world
      182·
      2 months ago

      But…but…Putin openly endorsed Komrade Kamala…very strongly. Many say Sir, it is the strongest endorsement a communist has ever made.

    • ziggurat@lemmy.world
      4·
      2 months ago

      No they are saying straight out that on fox news that it’s good if Russians help the Republicans win

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1431·
    2 months ago

    Wow. I gotta admit I’m a bit surprised the parties involved killed the operation so quickly. This wasn’t “the FBI shut us down”. This was “lol we got caught red-handed, quick, pull our money out asap”.

    It’s less of a smoking gun, and more like finding someone holding a smoking gun in front of a shot person, and they see you seeing them, so they quickly yeet the gun into the river and run away. Like… bro: we see you, and just watched you do that. The context is utterly damning.

    • Eldritch@lemmy.worldEnglish
      22·
      2 months ago

      They’re not responding. Quick! Google time in Moscow for the imaginary man in Paris. That’s some stooges level of competence.

      Insult to injury Tim’s father regularly contradicts and pushes back against the narrative his son peddles in his own way. But in the wake of this he even called into the majority report. And had a discussion with Emma Matt and the others.

      • dubyakay@lemmy.ca
        3·
        2 months ago

        What? Tim who? And the rest… I seem to be missing some serious context here.

        Edit: I have educated myself.

        The accused will claim McCarthyism, even though this time there’s actual proof of connections, unlike in the 50s.

        • Farid@startrek.website
          95·
          2 months ago

          Explain the context, please.

          P.S. I tried watching Always Sunny, but couldn’t get past second season. I feel like being an American is a soft prerequisite.

          • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
            15·
            2 months ago

            Dennis is explaining that having sex with a woman is easier on a boat because of “the implications”. Mac asks him if he means the implication of rape, and Dennis unconvincing argues against that characterization.

            Further context: Dennis is a sociopath, and generally a bad person.

          • Eldritch@lemmy.worldEnglish
            15·
            2 months ago

            It definitely helps. And even then it’s not for everyone. It’s ironically become a near perfect totem for American conservatism/conservatives. Sociopaths all the way down. You don’t watch the show to identity with a character. And if you do even the actors will tell you that’s a bad thing.

            The entire gang are irredeemable sociopaths. Who get up to selfish, childish antics. But always get hilarious schadenfreude in the end. Over in Europe and especially the kingdom the closest analog I know is bottom.

            Basically the trump administration would have been Danny Devito’s character slathered in orange. Charlie Day playing a more loveable Eric. Rob McElhaney playing junior as he sees himself. Katlin Olson as ivanka and Glen Howeton as jarred. Different names, same antics.

              • Eldritch@lemmy.worldEnglish
                2·
                2 months ago

                Honestly for those that know their beans. And let’s face it many on Lemmy do. That’s pretty accurate.

          • Miles O'Brien@startrek.websiteEnglish
            4·
            2 months ago

            You’ll have a better understanding of the references and jokes if you’re American, like watching TV from any nation would be, but IASIP is… Not for everyone.

            I get the desire to watch it every few years, and get to around season 7 or 8 before burning out, and I have to admit the only reason I watched past episode 2 was because all my friends kept insisting it gets way better… But it’s not usually my cuppa.

              • 𝔼𝕩𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕒@lemmy.world
                1·
                2 months ago

                I do not see the entertainment in watching “1-5 asshole versions of sideshow bob takes 20 minutes to step on a rake” as the sole plot point for 170 episodes.

                I recognize that clearly people like it, it’s run for 16 seasons.I personally just can’t do it.

  • vegeta@lemmy.world
    110·
    2 months ago

    Make sure everyone knows Blaze Media was ‘duped’ as well

    The fallout from the alleged propaganda scheme lost Chen her broadcasting gig with another far-right media group, Blaze Media,

    • BossDj@lemm.ee
      20·
      2 months ago

      And on the odd chance they aren’t a Russian propaganda machine, then at best they can’t seem to distinguish their own work from Russian propaganda

  • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
    71·
    2 months ago

    The Russian funds paid for videos by popular far-right personalities, including podcaster Tim Pool and Lauren Southern. Pool has since described himself as a “victim” in the Tenet scandal.

    How horrible for those poor, alt-right wing influencers. Imagine finding out that Putin has been paying you all along when you thought you were spewing Russia’s talking points for American scum bags.

  • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.worldEnglish
    69·
    2 months ago

    Wasn’t there some kind of media or internet crash in Russia during the 2016 or 2020 election? I was on reddit then, and remember there being 2 or 3 days of a solid 99% reduction in pro-Trump posts cuz all the bots suddenly stopped.

  • nkat2112@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    26·
    2 months ago

    This is an outright attack on democracy - and something that a majority of conservatives are in support of. It’s very shameful. I’m very grateful that schemes such as this have been exposed.

    Good riddance, Tenet Media - and also Blaze Media. Good riddance.

  • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23·
    2 months ago

    “Neten Media” being founded with the same headquarters address and many of the same employees (purely by happenstance, of course) in 3… 2… 1…

  • psycho_driver@lemmy.world
    171·
    2 months ago

    They should just outsource this work to whoever is doing it for Israel. Obviously better at their jobs.

  • andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    15·
    2 months ago

    I suspect $10mil. is what they were able to track but isn’t it just a pocket change in the american media world, especially with such a mission?

    • Miles O'Brien@startrek.websiteEnglish
      12·
      2 months ago

      Politicians can be bought for embarrassingly low amounts, I dont see “media personalities” as generally being any better.

  • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    15·
    2 months ago

    Those rubles and bots are going to go somewhere else soon enough. Id wager some middeling podcaster is about to get a suspicious boost in audience and funding.