GTV Media Group Inc.
FoundedApril 20, 2020; 3 years ago (2020-04-20)
Headquarters
Buffalo, New York
,
United States
Key people
Total equityUS$300 million (2020)
Websitegtv.org
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

GTV Media Group, Inc. is a media company formed in April 2020 by Steve Bannon and Guo Wengui.[3][4] The company operates GTV, a Chinese media platform.[5]

Background

Prior to forming GTV, Steve Bannon served as an executive of Breitbart News and an advisor to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Kwok, is a Chinese billionaire fugitive.[6][7] Guo paid Bannon $1 million for consulting services related to G News from August 2018 to August 2019.[8]

History

GTV Media Group, Inc. was founded in New York on April 20, 2020.[2] In August, The Wall Street Journal reported that GTV Media was being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to more than $300 million in private equity funding. Some investors had requested refunds after GTV Media failed to produce official documents validating their investments. Bank accounts of the company were frozen by Wells Fargo and Chase Bank, and a Bank of America account of GTV Media's parent company was closed.[9][1][7]

The organization also attracted attention in August following the federal grand jury indictment of Bannon, Brian Kolfage, and several of their associates on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the We Build the Wall fundraising project.[1][7][10][6] Guo responded that the charges were "fabricated" and claimed that they were part of a plan by the Chinese Communist Party to "take Mr. Bannon down".[11]

Like other entities under Guo and Bannon, this organization has also participated in the spread of non verified information and conspiracy theories about Hunter Biden[5][12] as well as misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13][14][15]

In September 2021, GTV settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it participated in the illegal sale of shares and digital securities called G-Coins or G-Dollars. In the settlement, the firms paid more than $539 million.[16]

New Zealand operations

Main article: Counterspin Media

GTV formerly hosted Counterspin Media, a far right New Zealand platform promoting far right ideology and conspiracy theories including opposition to COVID-19 vaccines and restrictions. Counterspin's hosts including founder and far right activist Kelvyn Alp and former Green Party activist Hannah Spierer.[17][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Papenfuss, Mary (August 20, 2020). "FBI Now Probing $300 Million Media Company Deal Linked To Steve Bannon: Report". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "NYS Department of State Division of Corporations Entity Information". New York Department of State, Division of Corporations, State Records & UCC. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  3. ^ Lawson, Charlotte (October 26, 2020). "The Strange Case of Guo Wengui". The Dispatch. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Hvistendahl, Mara (November 11, 2020). "Questions Mount About Controversial Hunter Biden-China Dossier". The Intercept. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Covucci, David (October 26, 2020). "Hunter Biden's laptop is Schrödinger's October Surprise". The Daily Dot. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Allsop, Jon (August 21, 2020). "Bannon, Biden, the darkness, and the light". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Spegele, Brian; Hua, Sha; Viswanatha, Aruna (August 19, 2020). "Fundraising at Company Tied to Steve Bannon and Guo Wengui Faces Probe". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  8. ^ Swan, Jonathan; Pandey, Erica (October 29, 2019). "Exclusive: Steve Bannon's $1 million deal linked to a Chinese billionaire". Axios. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  9. ^ Dilanian, Ken; Blankstein, Andrew; Winter, Tom; Tur, Katy (August 20, 2020). "Who is Guo Wengui, the Chinese billionaire who owns the boat Steve Bannon was arrested on?". NBC News. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  10. ^ Melendez, Pilar (August 20, 2020). "Bannon Was Busted on Luxury Yacht Owned by Billionaire Chinese Fugitive". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  11. ^ "Meet Guo Wengui, Steve Bannon's Chinese-exile friend". The Economist. August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  12. ^ Aspinwall, Nick (November 2, 2020). "Guo Wengui and Steve Bannon Are Flooding the Zone With Hunter Biden Conspiracies". Foreign Policiy.
  13. ^ "'The truth about COVID-19': How anti-Beijing activists are spreading coronavirus conspiracies". www.abc.net.au. October 9, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  14. ^ "A Site Tied To Steve Bannon Is Writing Fake News About The Coronavirus". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  15. ^ Qin, Amy; Wang, Vivian; Hakim, Danny (November 20, 2020). "How Steve Bannon and a Chinese Billionaire Created a Right-Wing Coronavirus Media Sensation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  16. ^ Song, Zijia (November 12, 2021). "A $27 Billion Token Loved by Exiled Billionaire and Steve Bannon". Bloomberg.com.
  17. ^ Daalder, Marc (February 12, 2022). "'Splintered realities': How NZ convoy lost its way". Newsroom. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  18. ^ Mitchell, Charlie (February 12, 2022). "Inside the disorienting, contradictory swirl of the convoy, as seen through its media mouthpiece". Stuff. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
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