Tag: dark money

Democrat Policies Are so Unpopular That a Dark Money Group is Paying Progressive Influencers $8K a Month to Push Them

A dark money group on the left is paying progressive influencers up to $8,000 a month to push Democrat policy ideas. Must be nice.

This is so typical. For all of the Democrats’ talk of getting ‘big money’ out of politics, they are the worst culprits of using big money to advance their agenda when it suits them.

The New York Post reports:

‘Dark money’ group paying pro-Dem influencers up to $8K a month: report

A secretive dark money group tied to the Democratic Party is paying online influencers up to $8,000 a month to disseminate left-leaning talking points, according to a report.

The “Chorus Creator Incubator Program” is said to be funded by the “Sixteen Thirty Fund,” a nonprofit sometimes portrayed as the left’s answer to the Koch network and which has funneled money to dozens of Democratic-friendly influencers, according to WIRED magazine.

The names attached to the program span some of the most recognizable liberal voices online.

They include Olivia Julianna, the Gen Z activist who spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention; Loren Piretra, a former Playboy executive turned Occupy Democrats YouTuber; and Barrett Adair, the content creator who runs a viral American Girl Doll–themed meme account.

The program also includes Suzanne Lambert, who styles herself a “Regina George liberal”; Arielle Fodor, a teacher with 1.4 million TikTok followers; Sander Jennings, the TLC reality star and older brother of trans influencer Jazz Jennings; and David Pakman, host of a YouTube show.

More from the story in Wired:

“There are some real great advantages to … housing this program in a nonprofit,” Graham Wilson, a lawyer working with Chorus, said to creators on a Zoom call reviewed by WIRED. “It gives us the ability to raise money from donors. It also, with this structure, it avoids a lot of the public disclosure or public disclaimers—you know, ‘Paid for by blah blah blah blah’—that you see on political ads. We don’t need to deal with any of that. Your names aren’t showing up on, like, reports filed with the FEC.” (Wilson did not reply to a request for comment.)

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New GPS Data Reveals Exactly Who Showed Up At White House Protests

Dark-money-funded leftist NGOs were at it again this weekend, attempting to stage a color-revolution-style regime change in Washington, D.C., right outside the White House. But as with every operation this year, dating back to “Tesla Takedown,” the only people these far-left groups, funded by rogue billionaires and some with taxpayer funds, managed to summon were the usual unhinged white baby-boomer liberal, serial protesters at best, with nothing else better to do. 

Self-proclaimed investor and “CIA/NSA contractor/whistleblower” Tony Seruga wrote on X about who potentially attended the D.C. protest march on Saturday. Using device data collected from the area, Seruga found it was largely the same crowd, leftist NGO foot soldiers – or repeat protesters from previous marches… 

Here’s a breakdown of Seruga’s data: 

Device Analysis

  • 318 mobile devices present (law enforcement, media, and demonstrators).
  • 92% of devices had been at 5+ past D.C. protests.
  • 67 devices tied to federal government employees, with access to secured federal buildings (DoD, VA, DHS, DOJ, FBI, Treasury).
  • 9 devices accessed the White House Northwest Gate multiple times in the prior 30 days.

Demographics: Mostly local DMV residents; 86.7% from homes valued >$850,000, 34% from homes valued >$2.5 million.

Protest Details

  • Branded as “Free DC” and “Fight the Trump Takeover”.
  • Targeted Trump’s federalization of D.C. policing and National Guard deployments from GOP states.
  • Route: Dupont Circle → White House (~1.5 miles). Chants/signs: “Trump Must Go”, “Hands Off DC”.
  • Part of broader anti-Trump demonstrations nationwide.

Organizers & Funding

  • Led by Community Change and Community Change Action under the “Free DC” initiative.
  • Backed by $20M+ from progressive dark-money networks: Soros’ Open Society Foundations Arabella Advisors network Tides Foundation

Paid Participation

  • Reports of 400% surge in demand for paid protesters in D.C. after Trump’s announcements.
  • Crowds on Demand confirmed anti-Trump events drove most inquiries.
  • Soros allegedly spent $20M on crowd-rental services for demonstrations.

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Left-wing dark-money megadonors, including George Soros, contribute $20M to groups funding protests against Trump’s DC crime crackdown

Several lefty, dark money organizations, including George Soros’, contributed more than $20 million to groups funding protests against President Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington, DC. 

Free DC, a “fiscally sponsored special project” of progressive nonprofits Community Change and Community Change Action, brought 150 demonstrators near the White House Monday to protest Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops in the district and federalize the city’s police department. 

“Do not obey in advance” and “Take up space” are among Free DC’s “guiding principles,” and the group urges supporters to “go outside at 8:00 PM and bang pots and pans, sing, chant, or make noise for five minutes” every night “of this occupation.” 

Free DC has scheduled multiple events since Monday’s anti-Trump protest, including a “Cop Watch Training,” suggesting further protests are planned amid Trump’s effort to make DC the “safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world” – by ramping up law enforcement efforts and removing homeless encampments from public places. 

Community Change and Community Change Action, the groups bankrolling Free DC’s activism campaign, have been the beneficiaries of millions of dollars in donations from hedge-fund tycoon George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and Tides Foundation, and the dark-money Arabella Advisors network, according to an analysis shared with The Post.

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Communist Billionaire Accused Of Funding Anti-ICE Riots Mysteriously Vanishes

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) posted on X Wednesday, exposing how Communist billionaire Neville Roy Singham—who operates a dark-money NGO network allegedly tied to funding anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and resides in China with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—has suddenly vanished. 

“Neville Singham— the billionaire communist with ties to the CCP, who funded the LA riots and used immigration & Mexicans as a Trojan horse for communism— is hiding from our letter requesting testimony,” Rep. Luna wrote on X.

She said, “This poses an issue for delivering subpoena,” adding, “Therefore, if he decides to hide in CHINA,  we will now be asking the State Dept. and Treasury to freeze his assets/visa.” 

“Singham is literally hiding,” she emphasized. 

In June, U.S. Congressional Republicans, led by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), launched a formal investigation into Singham’s dark money networks and the political affiliations… 

Singham is suspected of funding far-left color revolutions in the U.S. with alleged ties to the CCP. The Oversight Committee’s inquiry focuses on Singham’s possible role as a proxy in CCP propaganda operations and his potential legal exposure under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. 

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Far-Left Panic: Dark Money NGO Floods Baltimore Airwaves With Propaganda To Save Governor 

A local journalist at Fox Baltimore is starting to dive into the same rabbit hole we’ve explored for years—tracing the dark money networks funneling cash into left-wing nonprofits tied to the Democratic Party machine. Whether it’s funding anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles or quietly backing political campaigns, the funding network is vast, coordinated, and often concealed behind leftist law firms that create a web of pop-up nonprofit organizations.

Gary Collins of Fox Baltimore and the Baltimore Sun recently flagged a mysterious multi-week propaganda blitz—radio ads flooding the airwaves across the Baltimore metro area with praise for far-left Gov. Wes Moore’s supposedly ‘stellar’ economy. Collins noted that the campaign is now expanding to television.

The commercial, funded by America Works USA—a dark money-funded nonprofit affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association (DGA)—promotes Moore’s potentially misleading claims of economic growth, job creation, and a budget surplus. 

Even Democrats in the state dispute these claims. Ed Hale, a Democrat and former banker who founded the defunct 1st Mariner Bank, called the entire ad misleading, citing Maryland’s first credit downgrade in half a century and other economic setbacks.

Republican Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready labeled the ad a major economic distortion funded by a DGA-aligned group using dark money. 

“I think it’s fear that they’ve touched the third rail, they passed and signed the largest tax increase in the history of the state of Maryland,” Ready said, adding, “Whether you’re a middle-class family, whether you’re wealthy, or whether you’re poor, you’re paying more under Wes Moore.” 

According to public records, America Works is just one spoke in the Democratic Party’s massive network of affiliated NGOs waging an informational war on the American people. 

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Dark Money PAC Rallies 17K Doctors to Denounce RFK Jr. HHS Nomination

As the Senate showdown over RFK Jr.’s HHS nomination nears its climax, the medical industry and its front group appendages are pulling out all the stops to make sure they knock Kennedy out of contention and get him replaced with one of their dutiful lackeys, as has been standard operation procedure for decades now in Our Sacred Democracy™.

The Committee to Protect Health Care, a partisan dark money PAC with a particular interest in promoting abortion, has issued a stark warning to senators considering RFK Jr.’s nomination.

Via Committee to Protect Health Care (emphasis added):

As physicians who care deeply about the health and safety of our patients and communities, we are appalled by Donald Trump’s reckless decision to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). The health and well-being of 336 million Americans depend on leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, evidence-based medicine, and strengthening the integrity of our public health system. RFK Jr. is not only unqualified to lead this essential agency–he is actively dangerous. We urge the Senate to protect and defend our patients’ access to quality health care by rejecting his appointment.

This appointment is an affront to the principles of public health, the tireless dedication of medical professionals, and the trust that millions of Americans place in the health care system*. RFK Jr. has a well-documented history of spreading dangerous disinformation on vaccines and public health interventions, leaving vulnerable communities unprotected and placing millions of lives at risk. His appointment is a direct threat to the safety of our patients and the public at large.

A strong public health infrastructure can only be achieved when we work collectively to protect one another. Vaccines are among the greatest medical breakthroughs in history, saving millions of lives and transforming communities worldwide…

This appointment is a slap in the face to every health care professional who has spent their lives working to protect patients from preventable illness and death. Americans deserve better. Our patients deserve a Secretary of HHS who upholds the principles of science and public health, focusing on addressing real public health crises facing Americans such as the high cost of prescription drugs, access to care, and the systemic barriers patients face – not someone whose legacy is built on lies and conspiracy theories. 

As physicians, we are outraged by this appointment and we call on the Senate to act immediately. Reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination and demand qualified leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, the protection of public health, and the well-being of all Americans. The health and security of our nation depend on it. Anything less is an abdication of responsibility to the American people.

*it would seem The Science™ has done a bang-up job all on its own the past few years destroying “the trust that millions of Americans place in the health care system.”

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‘Anti-Energy Lawfare’: Millions in Dark Money Fueling Local Climate Lawsuits Across the Country, Congressional Investigation Finds

California law firm Sher Edling received more than $3 million in unreported dark money to push high-profile climate litigation on behalf of dozens of Democratic-led cities and states, according to a Monday congressional report obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Sher Edling, the Senate Commerce Committee and House Oversight Committee report found, received $2.9 million last year from the Collective Action Fund for Accountability, a shadowy group managed by the New Venture Fund. Because the contributions were made in 2023, the New Venture Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based dark money organization, isn’t required to disclose them until it files its next annual 990 form with the IRS in mid-November. Sher Edling also received a previously unreported check worth $235,000 in 2022 from the Tides Foundation, a grantmaking organization that wired a staggering $667 million to dozens of progressive causes in 2022, its most recent tax filings show.

The newly uncovered funds shed light on how powerful progressive interests continue to work hand in hand with Democrats to punish oil and gas companies. Sher Edling was founded in 2016 to take up risky first-of-their-kind lawsuits against the oil and gas industry, accusing the industry of causing global warming and arguing it is financially responsible for extreme weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

Most of Sher Edling’s cases are working their way through state courts, even as the oil industry has pushed for them to be litigated in federal courts. If successful, the suits could force oil companies to pay billions of dollars in climate damages to local and state governments. Sher Edling would receive a large portion of that settlement money, according to its legal services contracts.

As 501(c)(3) nonprofits, the New Venture Fund and Tides Foundation aren’t legally required to disclose their donors. Together, the two groups received $1.3 billion in contributions and grants from anonymous donors in 2022 alone. As a result, it’s largely unclear who exactly employed the organizations to send grant money to Sher Edling.

Since it was founded in 2016, Sher Edling has agreed to represent dozens of states and cities in climate-related cases, including Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Baltimore, and Honolulu. In the cases, Democratic prosecutors have argued the oil and gas industry is responsible for global warming and that it has deceived consumers about the downstream impacts of their petroleum products for decades.

Critics have blasted the litigation, labeling it a backdoor effort to bankrupt oil and gas companies and peg the industry for local emissions. Still, activists say the lawsuits are a critical part of the broader effort to curb reliance on fossil fuels and boost green energy.

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Dark Money Group Plows Millions Into Biden Campaign

President Joe Biden’s reelection effort will count on help from some anonymous friends.

In the 2024 general election, President Biden will be supported by numerous campaign committees and funds. One of the most significant will be FF PAC, also known as Future Forward. FF PAC has collected and will likely continue to collect millions from a nonprofit group, Future Forward Action USA, that shares leadership and a name with FF PAC.

According to FF PAC’s year-end financial summary filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Jan. 31, the hybrid political action committee brought in $25.3 million in total receipts in 2023. Future Forward Action USA sent FF PAC about $8.3 million, or about a third of its total fundraising for the year.

In 2020, when then Vice President Joe Biden was squaring off against incumbent President Donald Trump, Future Forward USA Action was one of the most important benefactors of FF PAC. According to FEC records, it sent FF PAC $61 million between 2019 and 2020. That’s around 40 percent of the about $151.4 million FF PAC collected in the cycle.

For the 2022 midterm cycle, Future Forward Action USA sent about $16.3 million to FF PAC. That’s around 53.4 percent of the about $30.6 million FF PAC raised between 2021 and 2022.

Future Forward USA Action is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c)(4). This type of organization, according to the Internal Revenue Service, is often a so-called social welfare organization. The agency also bars private enrichment and supporting or opposing a specific political candidate. However, social welfare organizations are allowed to engage in some political activities as long as they are not the primary activity.

FF PAC is a hybrid PAC. It can solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other political committees, according to the FEC. It must maintain two bank accounts—one for independent spending on advertisements or voter drives and another for making direct contributions to federal candidates.

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Is Dark Money ‘Anti-Hate’ Group CCDH Run By An Intelligence Operative?

A UK dark money nonprofit with outsized influence over the digital advertising space and political sphere, which popped up seemingly out of nowhere, is run by a British operative who reportedly had dreams of being a spook in his younger years – only to surround himself with spook-adjacents in his quest to deplatform opinions that diverge from establishment orthodoxy.

As Paul Thacker writes in Tablet, Former British Labour party operative Imran Ahmed heads up the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which in March of 2021 released a report about online misinformation that quickly reached the pre-Musk Twitter regime, and was used to silence Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who the report named as one of “The Disinformation Dozen.” The report was then cited by by the Biden administration.

“There’s about 12 people who are producing 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms,” claimed former White House spox-turned-MSM gaslighter Jen Psaki in July 2021.

After Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he was running against Biden for the Democratic nomination and appeared on Joe Rogan, Ahmed told the BBC, “He’s working really hard to keep people from knowing he’s a hardcore anti-vaxxer.” -Tablet

The report notes how Ahmed’s group, funded by all sorts of dark money, pulled off a near-impossible feat in DC – climbing to the upper echelons of influence in the DC cesspool dominated by massive think tanks and hardball lobbyists.

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Sam Bankman-Fried’s dad allegedly had advisory role at top Democratic ‘dark money network’

Joseph Bankman, the father of troubled former crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, allegedly held an advisory role at a top Democratic dark money network, an arrangement a watchdog says “deserves serious scrutiny.”

The allegation appeared in a lawsuit Bankman-Fried’s former company, FTX, filed against his parents Monday after they allegedly “exploited their access and influence within the FTX enterprise to enrich themselves, directly and indirectly, by millions of dollars,” the company’s lawyers wrote. FTX is seeking to recoup money to pay owed debts.

Bankman-Fried’s father, a Stanford University law professor, “sat on the advisory board of Arabella Advisors,” according to the complaint. 

Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, manages a nonprofit network that provides fiscal sponsorship to dozens of left-wing groups.

The funds it manages, which include the New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Windward Fund and Hopewell Fund, collectively raise over a billion dollars in anonymous cash annually and, in turn, also shower liberal causes and initiatives with money nationwide.

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