TheBlaze, the media company founded by Glenn Beck, has terminated its contract with content creator Lauren Chen after the Department of Justice claimed she and her husband were working as part of a Russian influence campaign in the United States.
“The Justice Department has charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a $10 million scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland Wednesday.
Those two employees were identified as Lauren Chen and her husband were the Russian employees being paid to influence Americans. The Department of Justice alleges that Chen’s Tenet Media never registered “as an agent of a foreign principal,” nor ever disclosed the financial dealings, breaking federal laws.
After the news was announced and was reported extensively, TheBlaze severed its ties with the YouTube creator, stating “Lauren Chen was an independent contractor, whose contract has been terminated,” according to Semafor’s Ben Smith.
Chen hosted the YouTube show Psuedo-Intellectual for the digital media entity.
