{{short description|American social media digital content company}} {{for|the Edwardian slang term|Siege of Mafeking#Aftermath}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox company | name = Maffick LLC | logo = Maffick Logo.png | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = | type = | industry = Digital media | genre = | fate = | predecessor = Maffick Media GmbH | founded = July 2019 in Los Angeles, California | founder = Anissa Naouai | defunct = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | hq_location = 2917 W Temple St. suite 102, Los Angeles, California | owner = Anissa Naouai | parent = | website = {{url|https://wearemaffick.com/#home}} | footnotes = }}
'''Maffick LLC''' is a social media digital content company based in Los Angeles, California that has been labelled a Russian state-backed entity by Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube due to its connections to German-based Maffick Media GmbH, which was majority owned by RT (Russia Today) subsidiary Ruptly.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Facebook Sued Over 'Russia State-Controlled Media' Label|url=https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/354380/facebook-sued-over-russia-state-controlled-media.html|access-date=2020-11-03|website=www.mediapost.com|language=en|archive-date=2020-10-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001155022/https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/354380/facebook-sued-over-russia-state-controlled-media.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=TikTok |url=https://www.tiktok.com/@getwasteed |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=www.tiktok.com}}</ref> In December 2021, Maffick LLC registered under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) as being financed by ANO TV-Novosti.<ref>{{Cite web|website=efile.fara.gov|access-date=2023-09-26|title=Foreign Agent Registration Act|url=https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7063-Exhibit-AB-20211220-1.pdf}}</ref> It was incorporated in 2019, while its main channel is ''In the Now'', launched in 2016.
On February 28, 2022, CEO Anissa Naouai terminated Maffick's service agreement with RT following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite tweet |author=Anissa Naouai |author-link=Anissa Naouai |user=AnissaNow |number=1498434929704665088 |title=Today I cut all ties with @RT. I have terminated @Maffick's service agreement with the channel and severed all contact. Full stop. |date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228230835/https://twitter.com/AnissaNow/status/1498434929704665088 |archive-date=28 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Putin's Propaganda Arm Is Toast: Russia Today (RT) Is Dying |first=Jack |last=Buckby |website=19fortyfive.com |date=9 March 2022 |url=https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/03/putins-propaganda-arm-is-toast-russia-today-rt-is-dying/ | access-date=29 April 2022}}</ref>
== Brands == According to CNN, Maffick "videos are generally critical of U.S. foreign policy and the mainstream American media, while largely avoiding criticism of the Russian government."<ref name="Griffin Devine Shubert 2019"/> Its content is targeted at American millennials.<ref name="Villasanta 2020">{{cite web | last=Villasanta | first=Arthur | title=Russia's RT Slams Facebook For Suspending Anti-US, Pro-Kremlin Viral Video Channels | website=International Business Times | date=2020-11-15 | url=https://www.ibtimes.com/russias-rt-slams-facebook-suspending-anti-us-pro-kremlin-viral-video-channels-2765394 | access-date=2021-01-25 | archive-date=2021-01-30 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130162519/https://www.ibtimes.com/russias-rt-slams-facebook-suspending-anti-us-pro-kremlin-viral-video-channels-2765394 | url-status=live }}</ref>
The company operates three major channels: ''In the Now'' (ITN), ''Wasted-ED'', and ''Soapbox''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Welcome to wearemaffick.com|url=https://wearemaffick.com/#/channel/soap-box|access-date=2020-11-02|website=wearemaffick.com|archive-date=2020-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101021404/https://wearemaffick.com/#/channel/soap-box|url-status=live}}</ref> By mid-2018, ''In The Now'' had three million likes on Facebook;<ref name="Trending 2018">{{cite web | last=Trending | first=BBC | title=Anna Dovgalyuk: Why do people think her 'manspreading' video is a Kremlin hoax? | website=BBC News | date=2018-10-20 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-45828060 | access-date=2021-01-27 | archive-date=2020-12-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210191245/https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-45828060 | url-status=live }}</ref> by mid-2020, it had five million followers.<ref name="Binder 2020"/> Maffick appears affiliated with a similar group, Maffick Moscow, which runs a Russian-language website and social media accounts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Video and films|url=https://maffick.ru/|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Maffick|language=en|archive-date=2021-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228184104/https://maffick.ru/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Maffick launched a political podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Audible in October 2021, under the brand Maffick Podcasts, called ''Left Bitches (who are Right).''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Left Bitches (who are right) on Apple Podcasts|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/left-bitches-who-are-right/id1537849551|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Apple Podcasts|language=en-us|archive-date=2021-03-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323010327/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/left-bitches-who-are-right/id1537849551|url-status=live}}</ref>
== History ==
===In The Now=== ''In The Now'' began as a programme on RT, fronted by Anissa Naouai, which became a stand-alone entity in June 2016. ''BuzzFeed News'' described it as "news served hot with a side of smile and a big dollop of propaganda".<ref name="Griffin Devine Shubert 2019"/><ref name="Daro 2016">{{cite web | last=Daro | first=Ishmael N. | title=This Quirky New Viral Video Channel Is Funded By The Russian Government | website=BuzzFeed | date=2016-12-16 | url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/quirky-viral-video-channel-is-funded-by-the-russian-govt | access-date=2021-01-27 | archive-date=2021-02-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226140538/https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/quirky-viral-video-channel-is-funded-by-the-russian-govt | url-status=live }}</ref> ''In The Now'' changed its Twitter handle from @InTheNowRT to @InTheNow_Tweet, but used the same IP address as RT.<ref name="NBC News 2018">{{cite web | title=How Russian propaganda evades YouTube's flagging system | website=NBC News | date=2018-04-19 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/russian-propaganda-evades-youtube-s-flagging-system-buzzfeed-style-knockoffs-n867431 | access-date=2021-01-27 | archive-date=2021-01-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110084350/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/russian-propaganda-evades-youtube-s-flagging-system-buzzfeed-style-knockoffs-n867431 | url-status=live }}</ref>
NBC observed Maffick's content, for instance on the Syrian civil war, promoted pro-Russian geopolitical positions.<ref name="NBC News 2018"/> Early viral hits included Canadian blogger Eva Bartlett defending the legitimacy of the 2014 Syrian presidential election, another attacking Syria's White Helmets civil defence volunteers, and one of Naouai describing messages from civilians in besieged Aleppo as "a coordinated PR campaign". Both videos were promoted by RT, Russian embassies, and then right-wing social media personalities, although RT stated that the platform was editorially independent from the main news channel.<ref name="Daro 2016"/><ref name="Worrall 2016">{{cite web | last=Worrall | first=Patrick | title=FactCheck: Eva Bartlett's claims about Syrian children | website=Channel 4 News | date=2016-12-20 | url=https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-eva-bartletts-claims-about-syrian-children | access-date=2021-01-27 | archive-date=2017-12-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223003044/https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-eva-bartletts-claims-about-syrian-children | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HuffPost 2017">{{cite web | title=5 Major Myths About Syria Debunked | website=HuffPost | date=10 January 2017 | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/syria-myths-debunked_n_585be4dce4b0d9a594574000?ri18n=true | access-date=2021-01-27 | archive-date=2021-05-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509200442/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/syria-myths-debunked_n_585be4dce4b0d9a594574000?ri18n=true | url-status=live }}</ref>
According to the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRL), RT's parent company, ANO TV-Novosti, had registered ''In The Now''{{'}}s website.<ref name="DFRL">{{Cite web|last=@DFRLab|date=2018-01-30|title=Russia's Bid for Millennials|url=https://medium.com/@DFRLab/russias-bid-for-millennials-dd9490c74ba9|access-date=2020-11-03|website=Medium|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109041632/https://medium.com/@DFRLab/russias-bid-for-millennials-dd9490c74ba9|url-status=live}}</ref> DFRL also reported that its audience in the US was concentrated among 18-24 year olds.<ref name="DFRL"/> The DFRL described the content as mostly non-ideological, but added that the 8% of content which was deemed ideological had a strong pro-Russian slant; the report alleged various inaccuracies in this content, such as the statement that NATO was involved in the Bosnian conflict to “surround Russia” or that Google censored anti-Hillary Clinton websites. In particular, the DFRL noted strong anti-Clinton bias in the 2016 U.S. presidential election coverage, including running several stories previously debunked by fact-checking website Snopes.<ref name="DFRL"/>
=== Maffick Media === Maffick Media GmbH was a Berlin-based subsidiary of Ruptly, which has been accused of being under editorial control of the Russian government.<ref name="Wiebe 2018">{{cite web | last=Wiebe | first=Jan-Henrik | title=Wie russische Medien mitten in Berlin Meinung machen | website=www.t-online.de | date=2018-10-18 | url=https://www.t-online.de/-/84584050 | language=de | access-date=2021-01-27 | archive-date=2021-05-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509200445/https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/id_84584050/mitten-in-berlin-russlands-heimliche-medienzentrale-in-europa.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Maffick Media was 51% owned by Ruptly and 49% by Anissa Naouai.<ref name="Griffin Devine Shubert 2019">{{cite web | last1=Griffin | first1=Drew | last2=Devine | first2=Curt | last3=Shubert | first3=Atika | title=Russia is backing a viral video company aimed at American millennials | website=CNN | date=2019-02-16 | url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/15/tech/russia-facebook-viral-videos/index.html | access-date=2021-01-25 | archive-date=2021-01-27 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127071507/https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/15/tech/russia-facebook-viral-videos/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref> It shared an address in Berlin with Ruptly and with Redfish, another RT spin-off brand.<ref name="Wiebe 2018"/><ref name="Alliance For Securing Democracy 2019">{{cite web | title=Russia's Network of Millennial Media | website=Alliance For Securing Democracy | date=2019-02-15 | url=https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/russias-network-of-millennial-media/ | access-date=2021-01-27 | archive-date=2021-01-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116020742/https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/russias-network-of-millennial-media/ | url-status=live }}</ref> It was originally set up as a holding company for ''In The Now''.<ref name="Griffin Devine Shubert 2019"/> Maffick ran three other Facebook pages: ''Soapbox'', focusing on current affairs, ''Waste-Ed'', on environmental issues, and Backthen, a history channel. The three pages had over 30 million video views in the first months.<ref name="Griffin Devine Shubert 2019"/> From September 2018, it hired several contractors in Los Angeles.<ref name="Griffin Devine Shubert 2019"/>
In summer 2018, its video of Anna Dovgalyuk, a Russian social media star, campaigning against manspreading was watched by millions, but the European Union's EUvsDisinfo website alleged that it had been staged as a Kremlin propaganda operation, and it was removed by YouTube.<ref name="Trending 2018"/> EUvsDisinfo also accused the channel of promoting disinformation about the Douma chemical attack, including the screening of an interview with a child in Russian military custody.<ref name="EU vs DISINFORMATION 2018">{{cite web | title=ICYMI and In The Now: The Support Vessels of the RT Flagship | website=EU vs DISINFORMATION | date=2018-05-07 | url=https://euvsdisinfo.eu/icymi-and-in-the-now-the-support-vessels-of-the-rt-flagship/ | access-date=2021-01-27 | archive-date=2021-01-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125135133/https://euvsdisinfo.eu/icymi-and-in-the-now-the-support-vessels-of-the-rt-flagship%E2%81%A9/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
Maffick Media's Facebook accounts were suspended in 2019 after investigations by CNN and T-online revealed ties to RT and Ruptly. Maffick was defended by RT, which said no official requests to explain the websites were filed with Maffick, and blamed CNN for the controversy. It was also defended by RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.<ref name="Villasanta 2020"/> The pages were restored later that month after they began disclosing their ownership. For example, ''Soapbox'''s "About" section now read: "'Soapbox' is a political opinion brand of Maffick, which is owned and operated by Anissa Naouai and Ruptly GmbH, a subsidiary of RT".<ref name="Birnbaum 2019">{{cite web | last=Birnbaum | first=Emily | title=Facebook restores previously suspended Russia-linked pages | website=TheHill | date=2019-02-25 | url=https://thehill.com/policy/technology/431497-facebook-restores-previously-suspended-russia-linked-pages | access-date=2021-01-25 | archive-date=2020-11-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107230345/https://thehill.com/policy/technology/431497-facebook-restores-previously-suspended-russia-linked-pages | url-status=live }}</ref>
The vimeo account for Maffick Video, the account that carried Maffick Media video clips, continues to carry Maffick LLC productions, and as of March 2021, the account continues to refer to itself as "a video startup based in Berlin"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maffick Video|url=https://vimeo.com/maffickmedia|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Vimeo|archive-date=2021-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330202816/https://vimeo.com/maffickmedia|url-status=live}}</ref>
Maffick Media continued to be registered in Germany with Naouai as the head until May 7, 2021, when the company was liquidated.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Unternehmensregister|url=https://www.unternehmensregister.de/ureg/result.html;jsessionid=2006C4771248C058188948098690CC9C.web01-1?submitaction=showDocument&id=28187936|access-date=2021-06-25|website=www.unternehmensregister.de|archive-date=2021-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625014835/https://www.unternehmensregister.de/ureg/result.html;jsessionid=2006C4771248C058188948098690CC9C.web01-1?submitaction=showDocument&id=28187936|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== State propaganda accusations ==
=== Maffick and Russian state ownership === Maffick LLC was incorporated in Summer 2019 by Maffick Media CEO and minority shareholder Anissa Naouai. Naouai founded Maffick LLC in 2019 after moving to Los Angeles and reincorporating its former channels in the new company.<ref name="Lawfare">{{Cite web|date=2020-09-16|title=Facebook, FARA and Foreign Media|url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/facebook-fara-and-foreign-media|access-date=2020-11-03|website=Lawfare|language=en|archive-date=2023-09-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909083538/https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/facebook-fara-and-foreign-media|url-status=live}}</ref> The disclosure about Russian state ownership was removed from Maffick's accounts after the new incorporation.<ref name="Lawfare"/>
=== State media label and Facebook lawsuit === In June 2020, Facebook labeled Maffick LLC's accounts "state-controlled" due to their connections to Maffick Media.<ref name="Binder 2020">{{cite web | last=Binder | first=Matt | title=Facebook sued by news media outlet over 'Russia state-controlled' label | website=Mashable | date=2020-07-30 | url=https://mashable.com/article/facebook-maffick-in-the-now-russian-state-controlled-label/ | access-date=2021-01-25 | archive-date=2021-02-01 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201225519/https://mashable.com/article/facebook-maffick-in-the-now-russian-state-controlled-label/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The company sued Facebook in the Northern District of California in July 2020 for defamation and monetary damages from lost internet traffic.<ref>{{Cite web|title="United States District Court Northern District of California"|url=https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.363393/gov.uscourts.cand.363393.1.0.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108231032/https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.363393/gov.uscourts.cand.363393.1.0.pdf|archive-date=2020-11-08|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Courtlistener.com}}</ref><ref name="The Recorder 2020">{{cite web | title=Social Media Company Sues Facebook for 'Russia State-Controlled Media' Label - The Recorder | website=The Recorder | date=2020-07-30 | url=https://www.law.com/therecorder/2020/07/30/social-media-company-sues-facebook-for-russia-state-controlled-media-label/ | access-date=2021-01-27 | archive-date=2021-01-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122003555/https://www.law.com/therecorder/2020/07/30/social-media-company-sues-facebook-for-russia-state-controlled-media-label/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NBC News 2020">{{cite web | title=Russian-backed sites keep targeting U.S. voters after Facebook actions | website=NBC News | date=2020-10-09 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/facebook-blocks-russia-backed-accounts-other-sites-keep-churning-out-n1242683 | access-date=2021-01-27}}</ref> Maffick's case was dismissed after it was ruled that the company had not proven permanent damage and had largely not disputed Facebook's allegations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=United States District Court Northern District of California|url=https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.363393/gov.uscourts.cand.363393.29.0.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207173756/https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.363393/gov.uscourts.cand.363393.29.0.pdf|archive-date=2020-12-07|access-date=2023-09-26|website=www.courtlistener.com}}</ref>
In July 2020, Twitter also began labelling Maffick content as “Russian state-affiliated”. Naouai said she would contest this.<ref name="Committee to Protect Journalists 2020">{{cite web | title=Tech platforms struggle to label state-controlled media | website=Committee to Protect Journalists | date=2020-08-12 | url=https://cpj.org/2020/08/tech-platforms-struggle-to-label-state-controlled-media/ | access-date=2021-01-25 | archive-date=2021-01-18 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118171246/https://cpj.org/2020/08/tech-platforms-struggle-to-label-state-controlled-media/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Reception== NBC describes Maffick as platforming <blockquote>sophisticated English-language video and text content for years that experts say is edited and curated in a way designed to exacerbate American political tensions. A lot of it is aimed at younger viewers and the political left, designed to peel them off from the Democratic party, experts say. Some is tailored to gin up outrage on the right.<ref name="NBC News 2020"/></blockquote>
Franklin Foer in ''The Atlantic'' says that ''In the Now'' "build[s] audiences with ephemera (“Man Licks Store Shelves in Online Post”), then hit[s] unsuspecting readers with arguments about Syria and the CIA."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Foer|first=Story by Franklin|title=Putin Is Well on His Way to Stealing the Next Election|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/putin-american-democracy/610570/|access-date=2021-03-07|issn=1072-7825|archive-date=2020-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101193158/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/putin-american-democracy/610570/|url-status=live}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Russia Today}}
Category:Digital mass media companies Category:Online content distribution Category:Mass media companies of the United States Category:Mass media companies established in 2019 Category:Russian propaganda organizations Category:RT (TV network)