PUTIN PAYS TRUMP'S "USEFUL IDOTS" TO INFLUENCE U.S. ELECTION

By Colby Hall

Mediaite

A gaggle of pro-Trump social media influencers are under intense scrutiny following a Department of Justice indictment that alleged they received large payments to produce videos as part of a Russian influence operation.

As Mediaite’s Sarah Rumpf reported, the recently unsealed indictment accuses a Tennessee-based content company with several high-profile right-wing personalities on its roster of being part of a Russian influence operation, working to infiltrate U.S. media with the Kremlin’s propaganda. While it does not identify the company by name, reporting has identified it as Tenet Media.

Tenet Media’s website declares that “fearless voices live here” and that the network features “heterodox commentators” focusing on Western political and cultural issues. Creators currently listed on the site and featured in videos on its YouTube channel include Dave Rubin , Benny Johnson , and Tim Pool , among others.

Following this bombshell news, video evidence of pro-Russian commentary from Tenet’s personalities has resurfaced, such as the clip above, which appeared on the r/JoeRogan subreddit. The clip appears to show Pool blaming Ukraine for the incursion of Russian military forces into their country before demanding the US “should apologize to Russia.”

"This is psychotic. Ukraine is the enemy of this country. Ukraine is our enemy. Being funded by the Democrats, I will stress again, one of the greatest enemies of our nation right now is Ukraine. They are expanding this war. Now, don’t get me wrong. I know you’ve got criminal elements of the US government pushing them and guiding them and telling them what to do. Ukraine is now accused. A German warrant issued for blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline is triggering this conflict. Ukraine is the greatest threat to this nation and to the world. We should rescind all funding and financing, pull out all military support, and we should apologize to Russia."

Rubin, Johnson, and Pool have each claimed to be victims of the propaganda scheme and appear to be unwitting participants in promoting Russian propaganda. 

However, if the allegations in the indictment are proven to be true, getting $100,000 for weekly videos that further Russia’s interests does not paint any of these participants in a particularly flattering light. In fact, the term “useful idiots” comes to mind, though one might qualify that as “suddenly rich, useful idiots.”