MPs want Canadians tied to alleged Russian influencer op to testify at committee

Centre Block and the Peace Tower are seen past a metal fence along the lawn of Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

OTTAWA -

MPs on the public safety and national security committee voted unanimously to launch an investigation into an alleged Russian ploy to dupe right-wing influencers into sowing division among Americans.

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A U.S. indictment filed earlier this month charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a US$10-million scheme that purportedly used social media personalities to distribute content with Russian government messaging.

While not explicitly mentioned in court documents, the details match up with Tenet Media, founded by Canadian Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan, who is identified as her husband on social media.

The committee will invite Chen and Donovan to testify on the matter, as well as Lauren Southern, who is among the Tenet cast of personalities.

The motion, which was brought forward by Liberal MP Pam Damoff and passed on Thursday, also seeks to invite civil society representatives and disinformation experts on the matter.

Court documents allege the Russians created a fake investor who provided money to the social media company to hire the influencers, paying the founders significant fees, including through a company account in Canada.

The U.S. Justice Department doesn't allege any wrongdoing by the influencers.

Following the indictment, YouTube removed several channels associated with Chen, including the Tenet Media channel.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.