Tag: Dark Money

White Privilege

WHITE MAN’S DARK MONEY: MEET THE BANKROLLERS – The Klaxon

 Advance network was run from a fake “national headquarters” in Canberra’s CBD.

The “virtual office” cost Advance $85 a month.

The entities include Advance Aust Ltd and its campaign brand Fair Australia (which both claim the Voice goes too far); “Not Enough” (a site suggesting the Voice doesn’t go far enough”); Australians for Unity (the “charity” arm of the network) and “Referendum for News” (which falsely holds itself out as an impartial news source).

The latest donors to Advance, for the year to June, won’t be known until next year, given peak federal political disclosure laws.

In the 2022 financial year, its AEC filing states, Advance received total donations of $2.24m.

The sources of donations of $14,500 or less were not required to be disclosed.

The disclosed 21 donations, from the ten entities, totalled $723,422.

There are no laws against lying in federal political advertising or in referendums.

Advance has a history of lying to the public.

Before last year’s federal election, it ran billboards falsely claiming independents, including now Senator David Pocock were actually secretly Greens candidates. It also ran advertisements of the Chinese President “voting” for the ALP.

Entities were well hidden from the press

Source: WHITE MAN’S DARK MONEY: MEET THE BANKROLLERS – The Klaxon

Money

Reforming money in politics: crushing Dark Money without eliminating quality independents – » The Australian Independent Media Network

A graphic featuring Australian currency and the Yes logo signifying the dangerous influence of money on the democratic process

Show us the Money!! Turn the lights on!!

The referendum showed how vulnerable our electorate is to all the games emerging out of the American Right. It is imperative that we urge the Albanese government to speed up the integrity platform reforms it promised, and to do them with precision. No government lasts indefinitely: Labor needs to protect itself from a post-democratic Right as much as the nation needs them to do it. If the major parties plan to prevent future challenges to their control of government we need to protest before they embed it in legislation.

The connections are rarely straightforward: money and influence have worked in labyrinthine ways over decades to distort the playing field for the interests of the wealthy, in particular for tobacco and fossil fuels.

Over the weekend, investigative reporter Anthony Klan revealed the shadowy status of Advance and its promoters. Precisely in the Atlas model, it has a network of fake “grass roots” seeming bodies – a strategy called astroturfing – that include entities dedicated to attacks on climate action.

Source: Reforming money in politics: crushing Dark Money without eliminating quality independents – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Informed Comment

‘Dark money’ still distorts Australian democracy

We know some of the companies and individuals who paid big money to political parties, but we don’t know them all, reports Alan Austin.

Source: ‘Dark money’ still distorts Australian democracy

Fight against Fake News, Fighting Fake News

Old Dog Thought- I rob you of 100K, give it back 3 years later in order rip you off even more that’s a Scamo not a “Win” for you?
May be an illustration

Fighting Fake News with REAL 7/2/22; The ABC has won Nothing from this L-NP; Dark Money; Elections; AEC

 

 

 

Australian Politics

AEC cracks down on Twitterati, lets breaches by major political parties slide – Michael West Media

Phillip Morris donates to the NP

Year after year, political parties receive tens of millions of dollars in “dark money”. This week, The Centre for Public Integrity, published research showing over $1.38 billion (29.5%) of political party funding since the 1998-99 financial year is of unexplained origin. In the 2020-21 financial year, some $68 million (38.6%) of party income was of unexplained origin. You won’t see who has been funding this year’s federal election as the donations data only happens once a year. By the time the February disclosures come along they are already at least 7 months old. We won’t see this until next February.

Source: AEC cracks down on Twitterati, lets breaches by major political parties slide – Michael West Media

Trumpland Revealed, Uncategorized

‘Operation Divide the Left’: Analysis Shows 2020 Online Disinformation Campaign Already Well Underway

2020 potential candidates

Dark Money is the scourge of American Democracy, Controlling the narratives and creating Chaos will be the American Nightmare. (ODT)

Researchers and others interviewed for this story say they cannot conclusively point to the actors behind the coordinated activity. It’s unclear if they are rogue hackers, political activists or, as some contend, foreign state actors such as Russia, since it bears the hallmarks of past foreign attacks. One of the objectives of the activity, they say, is to divide the left by making the Democratic presidential primary as chaotic and toxic as possible.

Research by the pro-democracy tech firm Guardians.ai found that Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as well as former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas)—who has not formally announced his candidacy for president—appear to be the top targets.

via ‘Operation Divide the Left’: Analysis Shows 2020 Online Disinformation Campaign Already Well Underway

American Politics

“They see themselves as heroes. Instead people are saying they’re manipulating American politics”: Jane Mayer on the method behind the Koch brothers’ brilliant madness – Salon.com

Jane Mayer, author of “Dark Money,” tells Salon how billionaires funded the radical right, remade American politics

Source: “They see themselves as heroes. Instead people are saying they’re manipulating American politics”: Jane Mayer on the method behind the Koch brothers’ brilliant madness – Salon.com