Our Planet Climate and Geopolitics
The US has accused two Russians of running a secret pro-Kremlin influence operation through a social media start-up in Tennessee. The company hosts content created by half a dozen hard-right American commentators whose guests have included Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. These commentators have barely any profile on mainstream media outlets but millions of followers on X and other platforms. One, Tim Pool, recently told his 2.7 million X followers "one of the greatest enemies of our country right now is Ukraine". They aren't named as defendants in a federal indictment unsealed yesterday alleging that RT, the propaganda channel formerly known as Russia Today, funnelled $10 million through the Tennessee company. But several of them broke cover yesterday to say they were "victims" of the scheme and had no idea it was funded by Moscow. If so, one troubling explanation for the Kremlin talking points they promote – such as that Ukraine is responsible for its own invasion – is that they believe them.
This article has been corrected since its initial publication, in which Tim Pool's remark was wrongly attributed to another commentator.
