What Ring-Wing Influencers Actually Said in Those Tenet Media Videos

In hundreds of videos since taken down by YouTube, right-wing influencers working for Tenet Media--a company the US Department of Justice alleges was financed and guided by a state-backed Russian news network--showed interest in a highly specific set of topics, according to a WIRED analysis. Using closed captioning of the videos we downloaded before the videos were removed, we've compiled lists of terms frequently mentioned in them, along with a searchable database: The content of these videos was described by prosecutors as "consistent" with Russia's aim of sowing political discord in the US. Among the areas covered: free speech, illegal immigrants, diversity in video games, supposed racism toward white people, and Elon Musk. While an indictment unsealed earlier this week does not name Tenet, WIRED and other outlets were able to identify it because prosecutors gave its motto as that of a business identified as "U.S. Company-1." Prosecutors allege that two employees of the state-backed Russian network RT, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, who are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, paid Tenet and its parent company 9.7 million to produce and distribute videos supporting Russian aims.