Thank you.
Honourable Chair and esteemed members of this committee, I would like to thank you for so enthusiastically inviting me to speak today.
My name is Lauren Southern. I am a filmmaker, YouTuber and proud Canadian.
In late 2023, I was contracted to make weekly videos by a start-up company called Tenet Media. Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice released an indictment that alleges the founders of Tenet created the company in conjunction with two Russian citizens, with funding ultimately originating from the Russian government. Per the indictment, the founders of Tenet Media deceived the personalities they contracted regarding their alleged source of funding.
I'll make a few points clear at the outset.
First, at no point during my involvement with Tenet did I ever have knowledge of the allegations in the indictment.
Second, the only person who ever had any creative control over my videos was me. No one from Tenet or anywhere else ever dictated what topics I covered or what opinions I held.
I always seek to fight disinformation in all of its forms and therefore I have a duty to inform this committee that disinformation has been spreading within these very walls. Some in the media and even witnesses to this committee have attempted to paint a picture of Tenet as a hugely influential player in the political media landscape. This, frankly, is just not true.
A previous witness at this committee, who went unchallenged, stated that Tenet Media controlled a network of over 16 million subscribers. This is not true. On their largest platform, YouTube, Tenet had barely over 300,000 subscribers. I believe the 16 million figure referred to the total number of subscribers among all of the personalities who had videos contracted or licensed by Tenet. With a subscriber base like that, given all of the facts, Tenet had absolutely no control over.... To claim that Tenet controlled those subscribers would be like claiming that a TV network had influence over the United States presidency because they air reruns of The Apprentice. The same witness claimed Tenet garnered over one billion video views and 20 billion impressions. I have absolutely no idea where those numbers came from. Very readily available public data shows that, on its largest platform, YouTube, Tenet received only 16 million total views.
Based on the witness's specious numbers, he asserted that Russia received “extraordinary value for money.” Anyone with even a cursory understanding of new media would know, however, that $10 million for 16 million views on YouTube hardly qualifies as extraordinary value. In fact, it qualifies as a total failure. Therefore, there is in fact a silver lining here if the allegations are true. It appears Russia did attempt to influence western media, but they failed pretty miserably.
Now, I know the chief concern of this committee is how this debacle may have influenced Canadians. Well, I was the only Canadian commentator and the only host who consistently discussed Canadian issues. In fact, if the company had any creative control over me, which they didn't, they probably would have asked me to stop making Canadian videos, since they didn't perform very well. Therefore, if you were worried about this alleged Russian money unduly influencing Canadian issues, I have good news: It didn't happen.
I'll be honest. It has been surreal for me to watch our government, experts and media assert that scripts I would jot down in my notes app in line at the grocery store were secretly part of a giant foreign influence campaign. Arguably, the largest actual impact on Canadians here has been the number of tax dollars they've had to spend investigating this non-issue.
Some in the media and this government seem to have concluded that the only reason a regular Canadian could possibly hold certain views that do not align with the current Liberal administration is because of pernicious, widespread Russian disinformation. I would like to propose an alternative hypothesis. I know it may sound insane. I know this breaches the borders of conceivable thought, but maybe, just maybe, some Canadians consulted their own moral compass and decided they don't want this country funding foreign wars. Maybe they look around at hospital lineups or housing prices and think immigration might be a little high. Maybe they lost their business during lockdown and think, “I worry about my freedoms in this country.”
Some in this government are hell-bent on drastically exaggerating the extent of foreign influence because they can't seem to stomach the idea that they might be wrong about something and that a growing majority of Canadians legitimately and organically oppose what they are doing. They simply can't conceive that they are becoming unpopular naturally, so there must be foul play at work.
Let me make this abundantly clear once more: No one but me, through my true experiences as a Canadian, has informed my opinions. To any members of this government who may be listening, I would suggest you familiarize yourselves with these opinions, because they are rapidly becoming the views of the majority of this nation.
Thank you.