NBC reporter Ken Dilanian dismissed skeptics of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) claims that Russia was interfering in American elections, asserting a “mountain of evidence” backs up the DOJ’s findings.
Attorney General Merrick Garland held a press conference Wednesday where he announced an indictment of two Russians in an alleged scheme to influence the 2024 election through a YouTube channel that garnered roughly 8,000 views per video. Dilanian claimed that despite the low viewer totals per video, the channel “had an effect” on American politics because of the viral videos it was able to produce. (RELATED: Jonathan Turley Roasts MSNBC Host For Calling Republicans ‘Conspiracy Theorists’)
“It’s a remarkable scheme. $10 million is how much the Justice Department says was funneled into this one Tennessee company that’s been identified as Tenet Media. These guys were making a lot of money. When I asked on a DOJ background call, ‘What was the impact here? How many Americans did this propaganda reach?’ They said, ‘Look, it’s hard to gauge, but, like, this company in a short time amassed 16 million views for its videos on YouTube.’ So, it had an effect,” Dilanian maintained.
“Some experts are saying they only need one or two videos to go viral to have a real impact on American politics. So what’s very clear from the indictment, despite, as you said, people calling this part of the Russia hoax, you read the indictment and it’s very clear,” Dilanian continued. “There is a mountain of evidence that RT and these Russian executives were funneling money secretly to these American conservatives who founded this organization in Tennessee, and they were then creating videos and taking their cues from RT, particularly the Russian line on the Ukraine war, and pumping it out to the American public without mentioning that this was Russian propaganda.”
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‘Mountain Of Evidence’: NBC Reporter Disses People Who Think DOJ Russia Indictment Is A ‘Hoax’ pic.twitter.com/0CbCbOywBA
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Tenet Media’s hosts include podcasters Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin and Lauren Southern, according to its website. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Now, the Americans in the scheme are not charged, it’s the two Russians who are in Russia, but the U.S. actually acted more broadly yesterday, beyond just this indictment,” Dilanian continued. “They seized 32 internet domains that have been used by the Russians for propaganda. They also sanctioned other people, including the chief editor of RT, who is a long-time Putin crony.”
MSNBC hosts and guests routinely hyped the claims that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with the Russian government to defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and repeatedly had Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who often made claims about the alleged collusion, on the air. The Steele Dossier, a package of opposition research funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign that was used to further allegations of collusion, was later discredited. (RELATED: ‘Too Narrow’: Jonathan Turley Rips Supreme Court For Ducking ‘Fundamental Issue’ In Censorship Case)
“The good news here, the interesting thing about this, is it shows how much has changed since 2016 when the U.S. government and FBI essentially watched helplessly as the Russians interfered in that election, both by spouting false narratives on social media and by hacking and leaking and dumping material into the bloodstream,” Dilanian said. “Now, they’re much more proactive. This thing started only less than a year ago. It really launched in November 2023, and it looks like the FBI was onto them almost from the start. They carefully amassed evidence, and now they’re blowing the whistle on it.”
“Likewise, the Iranian attempts to hack into the campaigns, they flagged those right away, and so far, we haven’t seen great impact from that. It also shows how much more complicated the media ecosystem is than back in 2016,” Dilanian continued. “There are so many people now so prepared to believe what this Russian propaganda is saying. Then, once the government flags it, go online now, the same people are saying this is a lie, you can’t believe this Justice Department indictment. This is all part of the Russia hoax. So, it’s a tough problem, but the FBI and Justice Department are trying to get out there in front of it.”
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