The US Department of Justice has accused a pro-Trump internet influencer of connecting Russian state-owned media outlets with other conservative content creators, who were then used to propagate misinformation among Americans.
Although the DOJ did not reveal the name of the conservative YouTuber, the media identified her as Lauren Chen of Tenet Media by details in the federal indictment.
According to the DOJ, Chen helped Russia by reaching out to a large number of conservative influencers who allegedly received millions of dollars from Russia to create online videos.
Chen was referred to as “Founder-1” in the federal indictment and has not commented on the issue since the DOJ accused her of conspiring with Russia. On the other hand, content creators who were collaborating with Chen claimed that they never knew that Russia was pulling her strings.
Some of the creators who Chen reportedly influenced included Dave Rubin, Lauren Southern, Tim Pool, and Benny Johnson. In the content creation industry, it is normal for YouTubers to vouch for each other and inform their audiences about similar creators in their niche to foster mutual growth. Chen has also made her name in the online world by acting as a bridge between different right-wing creators and facilitating collaborations.
Her efforts to connect different conservative voices have been appreciated in the past, with the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles calling her the “biggest thing on YouTube.”
The indictment stated that Chen knew she was receiving money from Russia and was compensated solely for her connections, not her political commentary.
Chen started her online content creation business in 2016. She is a Chinese-Canadian who moved to America after living in various parts of the world, including Shanghai, London, and Singapore. She has previously been accused of propagating hate speech against immigrants, the LGBTQ community, feminism, and DEI.
One year after starting content creation as a hobby, Chen decided to take her YouTube channel to new heights.
Even when most mainstream social media platforms like Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter launched a crackdown against far-right personalities after 2018 and banned them for propagating what they called conspiracy theories, Chen managed to survive on these platforms largely by avoiding confrontational takes on important issues and refraining from creating far-right content.
She has been endorsed by many hard-right activists, including Milo Yiannopoulos of the UK, who called her his “offspring” and “ideological descendant.” Similarly, far-right personality Richard Spencer called Chen an alt-right sympathizer and a “very nice girl.”
The alt-right was an online far-right and white nationalist movement that gained prominence in the 2010s and currently faces an existential crisis.
However, both Yiannopoulos and Spencer clarified that they had differences of opinion with Chen on various issues.
