Le financement russe d'influenceurs politiques américains et canadiens

Résumé analytique

On September 4, 2024, the United States Department of Justice indicted two Russian nationals for allegedly funding a media company, now identified as Tenet Media, for covertly funding and spreading Russian propaganda. Tenet Media was founded by two Canadians, Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan, who reportedly accepted 10 million USD from Russian sources through their online American and Canadian networks and platforms. Five Americans (Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, Matt Christiansen, Tayler Hansen) and one Canadian (Lauren Southern) were recruited and joined Tenet Media for its launch in November 2023. The Canadian Digital Media Research Network responded to this event with an investigation that produced eight incident updates (IU1-8).

Russia accurately identified pro-Russian and overtly divisive voices in the West and empowered them with additional financial resources. The investigation found no evidence of influence from Tenet Media or its influencers over Canadian politicians, and no evidence linking the case to Pierre Poilievre or the Conservative Party of Canada despite online discourse making that connection in the two weeks following the indictment. However, the Tenet Media influencers have significant following and influence in Canada, with many clear instances of Canadian influencers sharing and repackaging Tenet Media content to their own audiences. Approximately one quarter of Canadians are able to identify at least one Tenet Media influencer from their picture. Tenet Media influencer content frequently aligns with stated Russian objectives of sowing distrust and division in the West, including regular and intense criticism of Canadian public policy decisions and high-profile Canadian politicians.

The incident is classified as moderate, given the financial resourcing behind the operation, the reach of the impacted influencers, and the covert editorial control of content by Russian operatives, but does not meet the threshold for a major incident given the lack of implication by, or direct influence over, institutional Canadian political actors, and the limited informed complicity of the impacted influencers.