LIPSCOMB’S LIZA CORSO WINS
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BESHEAR RALLIES LOCAL DEMS
SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 | VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 36
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Swan Ball moving fundraising power to Friends of Warner Parks Longtime beneficiary Cheekwood files concerns as lawsuit continues STAFF REPORTS
Tenet Media’s headquarters, located on Burton Hills Boulevard in Green Hills, on Sept. 5, 2024 PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Tenet Media makes ‘covert’ Russian propaganda
The Green Hills-based media company has reached hundreds of thousands with its pool of right-wing influencers HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS According to a federal indictment, a Green Hills-based “online content creation company” is at the center of a covert Russian propaganda effort that aims to “illegally manipulate American public opinion by sowing discord and division.” While not specifically named in the indictment, the company referred to by prosecutors as “U.S. Company-1” is Nashville’s Tenet Media, which has a Burton Hills Boulevard address on file with the state of Tennessee listed as its principal office. Tenet Media registered as a business with the state in January 2022. Those state documents
show that Tenet is a part of Roaming USA Corp., which has a Brentwood address on file with the state. Prosecutors allege that the company was created by RT, and by extension the Russian government, as a “covert project” that ramped up operations in the U.S. following February 2022 sanctions banning the outlet from operating in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and much of Europe after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Tenet Media describes itself as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues” — the same
description of U.S. Company-1 detailed in the indictment. According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, two Russian nationals — 31-year-old Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and 27-year-old Elena Afanasyeva — have been charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Both Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet formerly known as Russia Today. Both remain at large. >> PAGE 2
Swan Ball will benefit Friends of Warner Parks in 2025 rather than Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, according to a press release obtained by The News and the Nashville Post. The event is set for June 7, 2025 at Edwin Warner Park, according to the release. Cheekwood on Tuesday submitted a notice to the court that it received from SB Initiative addressed to “Swan Ball Friends,” asking the court to expedite the proceedings. The announcement “confirms the urgent need to enjoin SBI from using Cheekwood’s SWAN BALL mark while the case is pending for the reasons stated in the Motion and supporting papers,” according to court documents. Swan Ball organizers, operating under the newly formed SB Initiative, Inc. sued Cheekwood to take control of the event in July, alleging to that Cheekwood took control of Swan Ball operations, although Cheekwood claims in court documents that it owned state trademark for the event since 2004. Cheekwood claimed that the event run falls short of national charity standards and later countersued, alleging SBI did not have ownership of the event. “As we consider the next chapter for Swan Ball, we are excited to continue our good work of the last six decades to enhance the quality of life in our community,” said SB Initiative, Inc. Board Co-Chairmen Kathryn C. Brown and Elizabeth L. Nichols. “Over the past few months, it has been rewarding to hear non-profit organizations >> PAGE 2
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