Moscow's media man in the USA Uproar over TV lies by pro-Kremlin US journalist Ben Swann

An anti-Ukrainian video series is being hyped by right-wing influencers in the USA. Behind the series is a TV producer who is also financed by Russian state media.

DPA

19.10.2024, 21:51

dpa

For the Kremlin, it was the best propaganda at the best time: Ben Swann, a US journalist who claims to be independent and spreads conspiracy theories, published a twelve-part video series which, according to him, was intended to reveal dark truths about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. The documentary-style videos are full of innuendo, attacks on Selensky's character and comments from Russia-friendly guests.

The series, entitled "Selensky exposed", appeared in April, just as the US Congress was debating an extension of military aid to Ukraine. It quickly attracted the attention of conservative social media influencers, who promoted the project to their millions of followers. Among them was Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of the former president. "Curious about the billions of dollars and weapons that Congress sent to Ukraine?" wrote Trump Jr. on the platforms X, Truth Social and Threads. "You must watch the first episode of this explosive twelve-part series."

Other conservative influencers had expressed shock in September at the realization that they may have been secretly funded by the Kremlin. Swann, on the other hand, should have no such qualms: he worked for the Russian state media empire for years. One of his companies earned millions of dollars for producing pro-Kremlin broadcasts.

Russian propaganda for unsuspecting Americans

The revelations about Swann's work for Russia come at a time when US authorities are increasingly warning of the dangers of Russian disinformation campaigns. In addition to weakening Ukraine, Moscow is said to be aiming to disrupt the US presidential election and cause discord in the United States and elsewhere in the West. The authorities are particularly concerned about the Kremlin's covert efforts to use unsuspecting Americans to spread Russian propaganda and produce false content at the drop of a hat using artificial intelligence.

The Russian influence operations also appear to be designed to support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has criticized Ukraine and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to officials in Washington. Trump and his supporters reject evidence of interference by Moscow.

Conspicuous entanglements

Swann had one of his companies, Rebel Media Productions, registered in the US a good two years ago for the production of content for Russian state media. His second company, Truth in Media, with which he creates independent journalistic formats such as "Selenskyj entlarvt" for target groups in the USA, is clearly separate from Rebel Media, Swann emphasized in an AP interview: "The only connection is that I own both companies."

However, the AP found overlaps between the two entities. For example, some of the guests from "Selenskyj entlarvt" also appeared in programs that Swann produced for the Russian foreign broadcaster RT. The topics are also similar. In the Selenskyj series, for example, the narrative of the Russian state media was taken up that the Ukrainian president is a would-be autocrat who has pulled the West onto his side in a war that Russia will inevitably win.

From conspiracy theorist to social media star

The 46-year-old Swann had worked as a television journalist for a long time until he was dismissed by a broadcaster in Atlanta in 2018. The reason was that he had promoted the false conspiracy theory known as "Pizzagate" about an alleged child pornography ring run by US Democrats. Since then, Swann has become a social media star who prides himself on asking uncomfortable questions about sensitive topics, such as baseless speculation that Israel was involved in the massacre of October 7, 2023.

By his own account, he was a correspondent for RT America until the channel stopped broadcasting after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. RT then asked him to produce programs for the network for broadcast outside the USA, says Swann. According to AP research, Rebel Media Productions received more than six million dollars (around 5.2 million Swiss francs) from RT in less than two years.

Large sums of money from Russia

Formerly known as Russia Today, RT is an important player in the widely ramified Russian propaganda apparatus and the target of US efforts to block Moscow's covert influence. According to the Department of Justice in Washington, RT has links to Russian intelligence agencies. In response to the latest sanctions, Swann declared that his company had cut all ties to RT in September. The Department of Justice did not wish to comment on this.

Truth in Media, the company that produces content for US audiences, does not make a profit, according to Swann. It is financed by wealthy individuals in the USA, whose names he did not want to mention, Swann said. Most of them own very large companies, some of which are listed on the stock exchange, he simply said. The large sums of money he had received from Russian state media had not influenced his work on "Selensky exposed".