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☆ TikTok purges accounts tied to Russian media RT and Sputnik over ‘covert influence’ efforts ahead of US election
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —TikTok has removed accounts associated with two Russian media groups for trying to exercise what it called “covert influence” on the upcoming US presidential election, in violation of its guidelines. The covert influence campaign was aimed at the American public ahead of the presidential election, US officials said. Tenet Media boasts a slate of high-profile right-wing, pro-Trump commentators, including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson and several others. After the Justice Department announcement, RT responded with mocking statements that did not address the specifics of the US allegations. TikTok, for its part, has itself faced questions over whether or not the Chinese government can manipulate its algorithm to influence the American public.

Persons: London CNN — TikTok, Rossiya, Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Joe Biden Organizations: London CNN, Novosti, Sputnik, Meta, CNN, US Justice Department, Tenet Media, Trump, Department Locations: United States

☆ How Elon Musk amplified content from a suspected Russian election interference plot
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Musk did not respond to an email Tuesday asking about the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report and about his sharing of Tenet Media content. Representatives for X also did not respond to a request for comment about Musk or about X’s handling of Tenet content. In posts on X, Musk has appeared unconcerned about Russia’s influence operations. The day after the indictment dropped, Musk accused The Associated Press of pushing anti-Trump “propaganda” in its coverage of Tenet Media. Southern and other commentators formerly employed by Tenet Media have said that they did nothing wrong.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tenet’s, Donald Trump, Trump, Musk’s reshare, Tenet, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Christopher Wray, ” Tenet, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Musk, X, Ben Shapiro, Josephine Lukito, ” Lukito, ”, Tim Pool, Rubin’s, Sen, Mark R, Martin Riedl, Lauren Southern, “, ” Musk, ” Southern Organizations: Elon, Tenet Media, NBC, Republican, White, Tenet, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Social Design Agency, Associated Press, Trump, University of Texas, “, Tech, Senate Intelligence, Meta, Microsoft, Warner, Democratic, CNBC, School of Journalism, Media, University of Tennessee, NASA Locations: Russian, Russia, Radio Free Europe, Moscow, Knoxville, Europe

☆ Meta bans Russian state propaganda outlets
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced Monday that it has banned Russian state media broadcaster RT and other Kremlin-controlled networks, alleging the outlets have engaged in deceptive influence operations and attempted to evade detection. “After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets. Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. Prior to Monday’s ban, RT had 7.2 million followers on Facebook and 1 million followers on Instagram. After the US Justice Department announcement, RT responded with mocking statements that did not address the specifics of the US allegations.

Persons: Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson Organizations: CNN, Meta, Facebook, US Justice Department, Tenet Media, Trump, US, Department, Microsoft, Senate

☆ Right-wing influencers say they were dupes in an alleged Russian influence operation. They’re keeping their millions, for now
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Jon Passantino | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The right-wing social media stars who were allegedly paid millions of dollars in a nefarious Russian influence operation to shape public opinion around the 2024 US presidential election are remaining mum. Tenet Media boasts a slate of high-profile right-wing, pro-Trump commentators including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson and several others. The influencers all say they are “victims,” and that the FBI has contacted them for voluntary interviews. The Tenet co-founder then wrote to the Russian state media staffers, stressing that the personality was “really insisting on seeing some materials (profile, article, whatever) on Eduard before (he) feels comfortable moving forward. Two Russian state media employees, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, were charged by the Justice Department with money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Persons: Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Rubin, Johnson, Brandon Van Grack, Robert Mueller’s, Pool, —, “ We’ve, ”, Ben Shapiro, “, Tenet, Eduard Grigoriann, “ Grigoriann, Eduard, ” Rubin, Lauren Chen, Liam Donovan, Grigoriann, Chen, Donovan, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, Elena Afanasyeva, Van Grack, CNN’s Hadas Gold Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Tenet Media, Kremlin, Trump, RT, FBI, Pool, Tenet, Justice Locations: Tennessee, Russian, Russia, Brussels

☆ How Lauren Chen went from ‘alt-lite’ YouTuber to alleged Russian asset
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-11 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Brandy-Zadrozny-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Brandy Zadrozny | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

The DOJ did not name Tenet Media but NBC News identified the company based on its description in the indictment. Unlike the influencers alleged to have been victims of RT and Tenet Media, who denied knowing they were working for Russia, Chen has said nothing since the indictment made news. “By connecting to and interacting with one another through YouTube videos, influencers with mainstream audiences lend their credibility to openly white nationalist and other extremist content creators,” Lewis wrote. Following the unsealing of the indictment, TheBlaze fired Chen and Turning Point USA removed her author page from its website. YouTube terminated all four of Chen’s pages, erasing thousands of videos and nearly a decade of work, including the channel for Tenet Media.

Persons: Lauren Chen, Chen, Liam Donovan, Candace, Jason Davis, Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Lauren Southern, — Chen, “, Michael Knowles gushed, Richard Spencer, ” Knowles, Tenet, Milo Yiannopoulos, ” Yiannopoulos, she’s, Yiannopoulos, Spencer, Rebecca Lewis, Ben Shapiro, Lewis ’, ” Lewis, Evie, Mark Levin, Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze, TheBlaze, ”, Fuentes’s, Nikki Haley “, Matt Christiansen, Donovan “ Organizations: Department of Justice, DOJ, NBC News, Tenet Media, Trump, RT, Getty, YouTube, Tenet, University of Southern, College Republicans, Brigham Young University, Facebook, Southern Poverty Law Center, Data & Society, ”, “, Scouting, United Nations Locations: Russian, Russia, Nashville, Tenn, Southern, Canadian, Shanghai, Singapore, London, “, University of Southern California, Charlottesville , Virginia, Stanford, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine

☆ How some of the biggest right-wing media stars ended up as unwitting puppets of Russian propaganda
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-07 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Now, the Justice Department is alleging that some of the biggest stars in right-wing social media were, unwittingly, part of a sinister Russian operation to influence the 2024 US election. What is Tenet Media? “Overt shilling”The Russians also pushed Tenet to promote videos that were going viral on social media, according to the indictment. Tenet Media has not responded to requests for comment and stopped posting content on Wednesday. After the 2016 US presidential election, congressional and federal investigations showed Moscow had successfully co-opted unwitting Americans to stage protests, run social media accounts and host events at its behest.

Persons: CNN — They’re, weren’t, Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, Matt Christiansen, Dave Rubin, Johnson, MAGA influencers, Rubin, Glenn Beck’s, Enrique Tarrio, Jack Posobiec, Pool, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Christiansen, Lauren Chen, Liam Donovan, Chen, Donovan, ”, Donald Trump’s, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban, Evgenia Novozhenina, “, Trump, Q, Justin Trudeau, Putin, Trudeau, Israel, ” Rubin, Eduard Grigoriann, “ Grigoriann, Tenet, Tucker Carlson, Carlson fawned, I’ll, Nina Jankowicz, ’, unvarnished ’, Renee DiResta, Donie O’Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Justice, Justice Department, Tenet Media, Kremlin, Vice Media, Independent, Young Turks, YouTube, Tenet, Google, Proud Boys, Blaze Media, Ukraine, The Justice Department, Republican Party, Trump, Democrats, ”, United, ISIS, Hungary's, Reuters “, Canadian, Hamas, FBI, Fox News, American Sunlight, Media, DOJ, Soviet, Stanford Internet Observatory Locations: Tennessee, Russia, Ukraine, ”, “ Ukraine, United States, Moscow, Russian, Colorado, American

On a recent day in the Miami area, conservative activist Charlie Kirk shared morning coffee with commentator Dave Rubin before meeting with Republican donors who relocated to Florida from the Northeast. He recorded his radio show and hosted an event for the former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro , then capped the night off at dinner with conservative influencers who recently moved in-state. “I feel like how I used to feel in New York,” said Mr. Kirk, who splits his time between Arizona and Florida. “I can just keep myself busy all day long.”

☆ Lauren Boebert, whose teen son got his girlfriend pregnant, says she doesn't want to 'nitpick what the Bible says is right and wrong'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Lauren Boebert's 17-year-old son got his girlfriend pregnant, and she's thrilled to be a grandmother. She now says she won't "nitpick" what the Bible says is right or wrong. In a Thursday interview on "The Rubin Report," a conservative politics podcast, host Dave Rubin asked Boebert if her son getting his girlfriend pregnant "challenged" any of her beliefs. "We can nitpick what the Bible says is right and wrong, but I think just having that heart posture of wanting to serve God, it's so important." Boebert added that she now plans to teach her son "about redemption and how to move forward."

☆ Pence said he disagreed with DeSantis over Disney battle, breaking with the Florida governor ahead of possible 2024 matchup
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Pence and DeSantis are presumed to be seeing the 2024 GOP nomination for president. Pence drew a distinction with DeSantis on Wednesday over how he handled Disney. Under a new bill that's before DeSantis, the governor will have the power to appoint a state-run board. DeSantis didn't mention during his stumping that he married his wife, Casey DeSantis, at Disney World in 2009, a fact Insider was first to report. DeSantis' battles against big corporations go beyond Disney.

☆ Elon Musk said he's 'open' to buying publishing platform Substack after a Twitter user said it would give him control of the 'narrative layer' of the internet
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said he's "open to the idea" of buying publishing platform Substack, on Friday morning. He agreed with a user saying that Substack would give him "control" over the "narrative layer" of the internet. Musk has also speculated about possibly buying Wikipedia this week, but was told the site was not for sale. The user said: "You would have the information layer with Twitter and the narrative layer. Earlier in the week, Musk also suggested he could try to buy Wikipedia, but was told it was not for sale by founder Jimmy Wales.

Elon Musk seems determined to remake Twitter in his own image — with some help from the men in his trusted inner circle. They are joined in Musk’s orbit by Alex Spiro, a trial attorney with a roster of celebrity clients who reportedly led the first round of Twitter layoffs. Bloomberg reported Wednesday night that Twitter is preparing to eliminate about 3,700 jobs, or roughly half its workforce. Musk's personnel decisions suggest a possible road map for the future of Twitter, one in which policies and internal rules are drawn at least in part from the views of Musk’s consiglieres. Sacks, Calacanis, Spiro and Birchall did not immediately respond to questions about the company’s future and the nature of their roles there.

☆ DeSantis went to battle with Disney, but he didn't mention he got married there
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ron and Casey DeSantis got married at the Walt Disney World Resort in 2009.in 2009. But details of the DeSantis Disney wedding, known to an estimated 150 guests in attendance at the September 26, 2009, nuptials, hasn't previously been reported. Three people confirmed the location to Insider, which learned of the DeSantis wedding location while reporting a story about Casey DeSantis. Octavio Jones/Getty ImagesDeSantis revoked Disney's special carve-outThe Disney wedding venue is the latest news to emerge from the DeSantis-Disney saga. Disney is Florida's largest private employer through its Walt Disney World theme park and resort, and the company has championed gay rights since the 1990s.

☆ Trump taunts Ron DeSantis, sharing a video claiming the Florida governor would be destroyed trying to run against him
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Trump took a shot at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Truth Social. He shared a post claiming he'd easily defeat DeSantis, writing "I AGREE." Ron DeSantis on his Truth Social platform, amid speculation the pair will be leading rivals in the battle for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. In the post, Trump shared a clip of podcaster and former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly being interviewed by BlazeTV host Dave Rubin about a potential Trump-DeSantis showdown.

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