A group of dark money, shadowy progressive organizations are funding media outlets in Arizona, including The Copper Courier and the Arizona Mirror. Many of these groups are interconnected and appear to be attempting to influence elections. They are not registered as political organizations, however, which would require them to disclose financial information such as how much they contribute to Democrats, and that may be because the founders said they believe voters are more influenced by media than political ads.
Arabella Advisors Media (AAM) is one of the key groups backing these types of news sites. The Courier, one of its projects, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Facebook ads during fall of 2022 on the Arizona Attorney General’s race. Most of the ads promoted Democrat Kris Mayes’ record supporting abortion. The ads mirrored Mayes’ “Winning Message” theme for her campaign. Facebook labels The Courier a news organization, but The Courier ran zero ads after Election Day.
Democrats frequently promoted pieces The Courier wrote attacking Republican candidates. Mayes posted its articles on her campaign website. The Courier obtained exclusive interviews with Democratic candidates, including Mayes, now-Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and failed Maricopa County Attorney candidate Julie Gunnigle.
When it launched, The Courier branded itself as “real Arizona news” — in a Twitter ad over a photo of Utah’s Monument Valley. In multiple tweets, the outlet referred to residents of the 48th state as “Arizonians.”
Progressive activist Tara McGowan founded Acronym to launch sites like The Courier, where she is listed as a publisher. She explained in a memo why progressives decided to use media instead of regular political ads — local journalism is more trusted by voters than paid political ads. In a 2019 memo she sent to potential donors for the venture, she outlined her “moonshot” plan to create a media infrastructure to “reach, persuade and mobilize” young Democratic voters.
“One of the biggest lessons we learned through these programs was how much more effective boosting and targeting owned media and news content online was over pre-produced ‘ads’ at influencing a voter’s support for or against a candidate or issue,” she wrote.
This media network would, in her words, “build nimble communications infrastructure for Dems in critical states” and “reach voters with strategic narratives” year-round. Arizona was one of the first states targeted with a media project.
Wired magazine profiled McGowan last fall, revealing the extent of her efforts.
“She is a longtime proponent of circulating news through ad platforms to shape political thinking,” the article said. “In its three years of existence, McGowan’s army of sites — collectively called Courier Newsroom — has spent at least $5 million on Facebook and Instagram ads alone. Backed by billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, liberal philanthropist George Soros, and others, McGowan says she raised $15 million in the first half of this year — and she’s gunning for more.”
The article added, “Her editors learned quickly that they got the most subscribers from local, cultural coverage — not straight politics — so the sites crank out lifestyle stories: the best places to spot rare birds, a ranking of Iowa’s best gas-station breakfast pizzas, a profile of the Black-owned barbecue spot in a tiny North Carolina town that became the only place to eat after a hurricane hit. After pouring money into making videos for TikTok, McGowan was pleased to see Courier find some traction there: In August alone, Iowa Starting Line’s videos racked up 2 million views.”
The Courier’s clickbait articles on local culture bring in visitors, who then see partisan elections-related headlines.
“When the time is right,” the article concluded, “Courier slips in a politics story, such as one on the Republican politicians who voted against funding meant to address the baby formula shortage.”
Laura Quinn, founder and president of political consulting firm Catalist, is an unpaid advisor to Courier Newsroom. Catalist works with multiple unions, including States Newsroom supporter AFSCME, to run their GOTV and other efforts to elect Democrats nationwide. Camaron Stevenson, the founding editor of The Courier and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for Phoenix mayor.
Two major Democratic donors, Linkedin founder Reid Hoffman and Laurene Powell Jobs, are known contributors to Courier Newsroom. George Soros gave Courier Newsroom about $2.5 million in 2021. He gave Hopewell Fund, which is also managed by AAM, over $11 million. Hopewell gave $150,000 to Media Matters For America (MMFA) in 2020. MMFA has put a considerable effort into targeting Fox News and receives large amounts of money from Soros.
The Hopewell Foundation gave $1.72 million to News for Democracy. According to investigative journalist Max Blumenthal, News for Democracy is a “fake news-style organization.” Blumenthal said the group started Facebook pages that catered to right-wing voters in swing states, then inserted ads for Democratic candidates like Beto O’Rourke and attacked Republican electees like Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Dmitri Mehlhorn, who is a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, admitted to The Washington Post that News for Democracy aimed to “mirror” the tactics of the notorious Russian Internet Research Agency troll farm. Hoffman and Mehlhorn both run News for Democracy.
The address listed on Hopewell’s 990 tax form for News for Democracy is the same address as Perkins Coie, the left-wing law firm long associated with progressive activist attorney Marc Elias. Elias regularly files election-related lawsuits around the country opposing Republican candidates, including candidates in Arizona.
The Hopewell Fund gave more than $8 million to Acronym. New Venture Fund gave Acronym $250,000 in 2019. Sixteen Thirty Fund gave $2 million to Pacronym, the Acronym-affiliated PAC. Soros gave Acronym $390,000 in 2019. Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund (formerly Wyss Action Fund) collectively donated $245 million to Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund since 2016. Those outfits, which Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss runs, are considered dark money groups. The groups often work in conjunction with each other.
In addition to funding The Courier and News for Democracy, AAM, Soros and Wyss also invested in States Newsroom (then called the Newsroom Network). In 2019, the Hopewell Fund contributed $250,000 to States Newsroom. States Newsroom funds the progressive site Arizona Mirror. The Phoenix New Times ran an article about the dark money behind the site.
In 2022, The Mirror published 91 articles calling the GOP “extremist.” Only 18 were labeled commentary or opinion. Newsguard, a site that reviews news sites for bias, concluded that “Because AZ Mirror favors left-leaning causes in its news coverage without clearly disclosing this orientation on its site, NewsGuard has determined it does not meet its standard for handling the difference between news and opinion responsibly.”
The Wyss Foundation gave States Newsroom $1 million. Wyss doesn’t hide the fact he wants to build a left-wing media empire. He has tried unsuccessfully to buy traditional media outlets and newspapers.
States Newsroom is growing fast. According to its latest tax returns, it went from just under $10 million in revenue in 2020 to over $21.6 million in 2021. States Newsroom’s 2021 tax return shows grants to various left-wing groups, such as $310,000 to NC Justice Center, which promotes a “living wage” and softer sentencing for criminals, and $225,000 to Maine People’s Resource Center, which, among other things, wants a Green New Deal, single-payer healthcare, and total amnesty.
Votebeat, a site that has extensively written about Arizona’s flawed elections, denying there was any fraud, is part of the Soros/Rockefeller-funded Institute for Nonprofit News. Votebeat’s parent company Chalkbeat received $2,672,491.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) allows these dark money groups to thrive, agreeing with them that they are not spending money on politics. For example, in one typical ruling, the FEC stated, “there is insufficient information in the record before us to find reason to believe that Sixteen Thirty Fund should have registered and reported as a political committee.”
Although McGowan publicly admitted the political purpose of Courier Newsroom and the organization’s numerous ad purchases before the election, the FEC unanimously ruled that it was a media organization. Courier Newsroom has hosted Democratic events. However, one commissioner admitted that the FEC’s media exception needed to be revised.
Emboldened by the FEC’s favorable decisions, the shadowy groups are expanding. Courier Newsroom has been split into two entities. A 501(c)(3) public foundation called the Good Information Project will grant money to nonprofit media companies, and a public benefit corporation (a so-called B Corp) named Good Information Inc. will invest in for-profit media companies. Vox covered this “new $65 million effort” from McGowan and her progressive allies.
Soros and progressive foundations Rockefeller and Raikes are funding Good Information Inc.; its advisory committee includes Accountable Tech co-founder Nicole Gill. Accountable Tech was behind the effort to stop Elon Musk from buying Twitter.
State Newsroom donor The Groundtruth Project / Report for America, is working to install progressive journalists in traditional newsrooms too around the country — including in Arizona at The Arizona Republic. Report for America is a joint project of Google News Lab and GroundTruth Project.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “George Soros” by Niccolò Caranti. CC BY-SA 3.0. Background Photo “Election Day” by Phil Roeder. CC BY 2.0.
The only way the Democratics can win elections is by buying them. The American people better wake up before we end up as slaves of the one world order. This younger generation has been so brained washed to believe it’s ok for the government to own everything including us. Time to fight back. I’m sorry but the only good Democrat is one 6ft under. They are all so crocked they’ll have to be screwed into the ground. I was a Democratic for over 40yrs so I know what I’m talking about.