The person who contacted me says his name is Kevin and that he lives in Houston, Texas. He declines to give his last name, and it’s unclear if Kevin is who he claims to be, but he agreed to answer questions via email.
Kevin says he’s speaking to me from the site’s “head office” in the US — which fits with the timing of social media posts on some of the site’s social media profiles, and the times Kevin responds to my emails.
At first, he signs my letter as “Editor-in-Chief” before telling me he is actually “Product Verification.” He refuses to reveal the name of the site’s owner, who he says is concerned “not just for himself, but for everyone he works with.”
Kevin claims there are “over 30” people in the US, UK, Pakistan and India working for the site, often recruited from freelance sites – including Farhan and James. Kevin says Farhan in particular was not involved in the false Southport story, for which the site has publicly apologised, blaming “our team in the UK”.
Following false claims made by Channel3Now, it was accused of having ties to the Russian state based on old videos on its Russian-language YouTube channel.
Kevin says the site bought a previous Russian-language YouTube channel that focused on motor racing “many years ago” and later changed its name.
No videos were posted to the account for about six years before it began uploading content related to Pakistan — where Farhan lives and where the site acknowledges a book is in it.
“Just because we bought a YouTube channel from a Russian seller doesn’t mean we have any affiliations,” Kevin says.
“We are an independent digital news site covering news from around the world.”
It is possible to purchase an already monetized YouTube channel and repurpose it. This can be a quick way to build an audience, allowing the account to start making money right away.
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