Last week’s news of a DOJ indictment involving influencers has led to disappearing author pages, shuttered YouTube channels and one influencer warning others not to cooperate with the feds.
Right-wing social media influencers and online platforms are scrambling after the Department of Justice revealed several of their own were allegedly enlisted into a Russian manipulation scheme to sway the presidential election in Donald Trump’s favor.
An author page for Lauren Chen is no longer available on the webpage for far-right activist Charlie Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA. Along with her husband, Chen co-founded a company, Tenet Media, that’s at the heart of the DOJ indictment. YouTube took down several Tenet Media channels and one field reporter said the outlet has “ended” after the feds alleged Chen and her husband knowingly used it to funnel millions of dollars from Russian officials to right-wing content creators who were paid to push far-right and pro-Kremlin talking points.
Of course, the first rat to jump off the ship and into the federal lifeboat is Tim Pool. Not even slightly surprised.
From here, it’ll be a race to give statements and turn on each other as all the best deals get made to the earliest and most thorough cooperators.