Russia Propagandist Welcomed,
European Disinformation Experts Sanctioned

If there’s any question that the US is now more aligned with Russia than Europe, recent State Department decisions have removed all doubt. Peter Jukes reports

In what journalist Will Sommer has described as the first time the Trump administration “has offered assistance to someone from Canada”, the US State Department recently intervened to reinstate the visa of Laura (Lauren) Chen, the co-founder of an illegally funded media outlet aimed at reaching American audiences with Russian propaganda.

Chen, the Canadian founder of Tenet Media on YouTube – which provided a platform to several right-wing commentators including Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, and Dave Rubin – was exposed in 2024 for taking $10 million from staff at Russia’s state broadcaster RT.

According to the indictment, two RT employees channelled money through a shell “investment” arrangement into Tenet, which then paid prominent American right-wing influencers to produce videos attacking Ukraine aid, praising Donald Trump, and amplifying divisive domestic themes. Chen lost her US work status and returned to Canada after the ‘Doppelganger’ Russian disinformation campaign was exposed.