David Armiak, research director with the progressive watchdog group Center for Media and Democracy, said it is impossible to compare the state school board association to WILL. He said the association is statewide non-partisan organization “where WILL is a right-wing funded ideological group that is pushing right-wing policies.” “They’re getting paid to do this by […]
Research Cited
Big Oil Rallies to Obstruct Accountability
RAGA obtains some of its largest donations from the fossil fuel industry — including Koch Industries, Exxon, and the American Petroleum Institute, all of whom are defendants in climate liability cases — according to an analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy.
How lawmakers’ ties to a conservative group brought the Israeli military’s ‘horror movie’ to Utah
As the 2021 chair of the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, Adams sat on a panel with Israeli-American Council CEO Elan Carr, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump as the Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism — a position focusing on foreign policy. Carr told the audience that Adams was a “champion” […]
Are Corporations Accountable for Their Political Spending?
David Armiak, research director at the Center for Media and Democracy, says that overturning Citizens United would be a way to bring integrity back to politics and “get back to a situation where politicians actually listen to their constituents and visit with their constituents, rather than those that give them a bunch of money.”
Big Tech Wants Your Paycheck
Although it is uncertain if there is a financial link between ALEC and the financial technology groups supporting the earned-wage access bills, ALEC is known to peddle its influence for money, said David Armiak, research director for the Center for Media and Democracy. “The more money you spend, the more influence you get,” Armiak told The […]
By the Wealthy, for the Wealthy: The Coordinated Attacks on Public Education in the United States
The Bradley Foundation spent $7.5 million to fund 34 state affiliates of the State Policy Network to push conservative policy agendas, including privatizing education, and $8.3 million to building a youth movement to “win the American Culture War.”
God and QR Codes for Trump; The Courage Tour Goes to Michigan
The financial supporters for the Courage Tour are not yet clear, but Wallnau’s media channels have attracted a broad range of donors. According to the Center for Media and Democracy’s David Armiak, these include, unsurprisingly, Mike Lindell’s MyPillow (another partner in the Courage Tour) and the conservative Christian dark money groups, the Capstone Legacy Foundation […]
Dark Money Uncovered
David Armiak, research director and investigative journalist at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), notes in an interview that, increasingly, brand new nonprofits “that haven’t filed any IRS disclosure yet” are formed and start running issue ads or targeting candidates just weeks before voters go to the polls. Such pop-up groups—usually super PACs or […]
Unsustainable and Unoriginal: How the Republicans Borrowed a Bogus Antitrust Theory to Protect Big Oil
The Center for Media and Democracy’s research informed this report and is cited throughout.
Project 2025 partners want to make divorce a lot harder
The American Legislative Exchange Council proposed a piece of legislation dubbed the “Marriage Contract Act,” which would have eliminated no-fault divorce. [Center for Media and Democracy, ALEC Exposed, 2/13/17]