It was a busy summer for foreign agent activity in the United States, with thirty-three filings logged with the Department of Justice between June 1 and August 31. Ten of the filings came out of Ukraine (mostly pro bono, as before) and two each from Nigeria, Iraq, and China. In this Round-up we will focus on the several of the Ukrainian filings, a filing involving Russian state media and American media personality Benjamin Swann, and an extremely lucrative filing involving Chinese state media. Let’s begin with China Radio International (CRI).
China
CRI first began purchasing airtime in the United States through G&E Studios in 2009, and initially only in small time slots. But by the end of their relationship in 2018, G&E was airing upwards of ten hours of CRI content “consistent with the ideology and goals of the Chinese government” daily (p.11). According to the Registration Statement, CRI paid the studio over $20 million just between 2016 and 2018 for airtime all over the country including Atlanta, Dallas, Boston, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City markets (p.8).
However, CRI did not register with FARA until four years after G&E Studios dissolved (p.11). CRI is not the only instance of a Chinese state-affiliated media entity filing either retroactively or just prior to the termination of their contract in the last year.
In the final weeks of 2021, Potomac Radio Group filed on behalf of China Global Television Network for work that began in January 2020 and would end on December 31st of 2021, barely two weeks after registering with FARA (p.19). Then, in March 2022, EDI Media, which “broadcasts Chinese-language content for a Chinese-American audience,” registered with FARA for XinMin International, a Chinese newspaper company. Between 2014 and 2018, EDI Media published regularly on Chinese culture and arts stories for an undisclosed sum (p.11, for the 2018 termination, see here, page 2).
These three filings don’t have much in common except for their conspicuously untimely registration dates in relation to when the contracts were in force—and that the foreign principals are all media companies heavily tied to the Chinese Communist Party. And it is worth noting that while ostensibly independent filings, the three just laid about above might hint at something more at work—but only time will tell.
Ukraine
Ukrainian foreign principals, on the other hand, are filing promptly. Between June 1 and August 31, ten registrants filed on behalf of Ukrainian government entities, including ministries, the parliament, and the Office of the President of Ukraine. Seven of the ten filings were also pro bono, and the remaining three have not disclosed payment values.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation worked with two separate Registrants, including Michael Babyak, who is conducting a “nonfungible token fundraising project” in his personal capacity for the Ukrainian cause (p.3) and was “introduced to the Ministry… to assist with public relations matters” regarding the war (p.5). The Ministry also worked with Cameron Hardesty to combat “Russian propaganda on social media platforms” and to communicate with U.S. media and government officials on the Kremlin’s narrative games (p.6).
Another pair of filings were logged jointly by Quantum Technologies Laboratories Inc. and Crowell & Moring LLP to assist the National Security and Defense Council in requesting the U.S. government to purchase Quantum Technologies-produced “sophisticated encrypted messaging software and associated satellite transmission services” (p.7).
Crowell & Moring filed as well due to an existing arrangement between it and Quantum Technologies (p.6). So, while this pair of filings are not explicitly said to be for payment, both Quantum Technologies and Crowell & Moring stand to financially benefit if the U.S. government submits to their request.
Russia
On August 5th, 2022 Rebel Media Productions registered with FARA on behalf of its foreign principal, TV Novosti, a Russian state-controlled media company, after agreeing to a $1.2 million contract. The point-person for Rebel Media is Benjamin Swann, the company’s CEO (p.1).
You may remember Swann, the media personality who made a name for himself with “Reality Check” segments at his Atlanta CBS affiliate in the mid- to late-2010s. Swann covered an increasingly controversial range of topics including the infamous “Pizzagate” scandal.
We have previously reported on the Kremlin’s propaganda efforts inside the United States, but Swann’s filing suggests another development in their efforts. While Swann and his company are American, the content to be produced, in accordance with his agreement with TV Novosti, is to be distributed outside the U.S. for markets in “India, China, Africa, and South America” (p.5).
It is arguable that the Kremlin sees additional credibility for its narratives in the Global South by using an American media personality in the prospective markets, as it would appear more genuine than, say, a Russian national speaking ill about the United States and its allies.
With the summer in the rearview mirror, the looming specter of a cold winter could yield a spike in FARA filings from countries affected by energy shortages due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as governments in that region of the world appeal to expat communities in the U.S. for material and political support. Russian and Chinese efforts to spread state-approved narratives also show no sign of abating either.
The information wars are still in the opening salvos.
Check back soon for another installment of the FARA Files.
