Canadian right-wing pundit says Russia never influenced her Tenet videos
Lauren Southern says she had no reason to question where the money came from
A Canadian right-wing commentator who produced videos for a media outlet now accused of pushing Russian propaganda says she was never influenced to produce content for the embattled company.
Lauren Southern, a well-known personality in conservative circles, testified Thursday before the House of Commons public safety and national security committee in the wake of a U.S. indictment linking Tenet Media to the foreign influence operation.
"I'm not being influenced by anyone," Southern told MPs during a testy hour of testimony.
"Let me make this abundantly clear once more. No one but myself and my true experiences as a Canadian have informed my opinions."
In September, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment against two Russian nationals accusing them of setting up a conservative media outlet as a front for pro-Kremlin propaganda.
It alleges two Russians — both employees of state broadcaster RT — illegally funnelled nearly $10 million into a company widely reported to be Tenet Media, founded last year by another Canadian, Lauren Chen, and her husband Liam Donovan.
According to the indictment, prosecutors believe the money was shared with the media outlet's personalities to covertly promote the Kremlin's agenda.
"While the views expressed in the videos are not uniform, the subject matter and content of the videos are often consistent with the Government of Russia's interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Government of Russia interests, such as its ongoing war in Ukraine," said the indictment.
Southern said she was first approached by Chen, whom she's known for a decade. She said it was Donovan who dealt with the contracts.
The YouTuber said she received about $275,000 to make dozens of videos. She said that after paying for other contractors, supplies and travel, she made about $100,000.
Southern said she had no reason to be suspicious about where the money was coming from.
"I can't comment to how this all happened because I was simply a contracted video creator," she said.
"I wouldn't have worked for them if I knew where the money was coming from."
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has said the U.S.-based influencers and personalities who were recruited to help with the foreign influence operation did not know about Russia's involvement and were led to believe their work was being funded by a fictional investor named "Eduard Grigoriann."
In the few short months Tenet operated, Southern produced several videos for the outlet focusing on Canadian issues.
Their titles range from "Canada Is Becoming A COMMUNIST HELLHOLE" (which compares Canada to the U.S.S.R.) and "Mean Tweets = Life in PRISON in Canada?!" (which criticizes the proposed Online Harms Act).
Southern, originally from British Columbia, was a prominent early figure in the alt-right movement and worked for Rebel Media before breaking out on her own and building a global audience.
In 2018, she was banned from entering the United Kingdom. She told the BBC she was refused entry on the grounds of her involvement "in the distribution of racist material in Luton."
A U.K. Home Office spokesperson said the border force "has the power to refuse entry to an individual if it is considered that his or her presence in the U.K. is not conducive to the public good."
Chen irritated MPs during committee meeting
The U.S. indictment says the company in question described itself as "a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues," which matches word-for-word the description on Tenet Media's homepage. The indictment also says the company was incorporated on Jan. 19, 2022, which matches Tenet's publicly available records with the Tennessee Secretary of State.
Southern was more forthcoming than Chen, who appeared before the committee earlier this month.
The Tenet founder stonewalled MPs' questions, arguing that as a target of a criminal investigation she has the right to be free from self-incrimination.
Frustrated committee members then unanimously adopted a motion to send a report outlining a potential breach of privilege to the Speaker.
NDP MP Alistair MacGregor has called on Speaker Greg Fergus to publicly admonish Chen "before the bar" of the House of Commons and force her to take questions from MPs.
Public admonishment before the House was once considered a rare measure, although it's been used more often in recent years.
It's referred to as being "brought before the bar" in reference to a brass rail meant to bar strangers from entering the chamber.
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With files from Jonathan Montpetit