Media Matters for America
FormationMay 3, 2004 (2004-05-03)
FounderDavid Brock
Founded atWashington, D.C., U.S.
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit
47-0928008
President
Angelo Carusone
AffiliationsAmerican Bridge 21st Century Super PAC, Media Matters Action Network (501(c)(4))
Revenue (2013)
$12,549,513[1]
Expenses (2013)$11,201,222[1]
Websitewww.mediamatters.org

Media Matters for America (MMfA)[2] is a left-leaning[3] 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and media watchdog group.[4] It was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Research Center.[5] According to the New York Times in 2010, it is known for its "aggressive" criticism of conservative journalists and media outlets, including a "war on Fox" from 2011 to 2013.[6][7][8][9]

Founding

Media Matters for America was founded in May 2004 by David Brock,[10] a former conservative journalist who has since become a prominent Democratic party political operative. Brock said that he founded the organization to combat the conservative journalism sector that he had once been a part of, although some critics say he has simply adopted the tactics of his part for a new political side. Brock further explained his motives for starting the group, telling The New York Times, that "the central thrust of his group would be to closely monitor conservative commentators and journalists and, when they make erroneous or misleading claims, to point them out and set the record straight."[5]

Brock said he founded the organization because conservative "monitoring groups have helped build the conservative media's influence, in part by making mainstream journalists toe a more conservative line by convincing them that they are liberally biased... The right wing in this country has dominated the debate over liberal bias. By dominating that debate, my belief is they've moved the media itself to the right and therefore they've moved American politics to the right." He added, "I wanted to create an institution to combat what they're doing."[5]

Brock founded the group with help from the Center for American Progress. Initial donors included Leo Hindery, Susie Tompkins Buell, and James Hormel.[5]

Organization overview

Research

Media Matters analyzes American news sources including NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, OAN, Breitbart, the Fox News channel, and conservative talk radio. Its techniques include content analysis, fact checking, monitoring, and comparison of quotes or presentations from media figures to primary documents such as Pentagon or Government Accountability Office reports.[5][11]

Beginning in 2006, Media Matters for America has released a number of studies which documented that Democrats and progressives are outnumbered by Republicans and conservatives in terms of guest appearances on television news programs.[12]

On September 12, 2007, Media Matters released a comprehensive study of 1,377 U.S. newspapers and the 201 syndicated political columnists the papers carry on a regular basis. Media Matters said "in paper after paper, state after state, and region after region, conservative syndicated columnists get more space than their progressive counterparts."[13]

John Diaz, editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, said by over-factoring conservative columns in smaller newspapers, Media Matters' study had overestimated how many conservative columns appeared in daily newspapers. Diaz said Media Matters had obscured the nuanced ideological positions of some columnists classified in the study as conservative.[14]

An annual feature on the Media Matters website is the title of "Misinformer of the Year", which is given to the journalist, commentator, or network that Media Matters contends was responsible for the most factual errors or claims.[15] Recipients of this award have included: Bill O'Reilly, Chris Matthews, ABC, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rupert Murdoch, Rush Limbaugh, CBS News, George Will, The Center for Medical Progress, the fake news ecosystem, and the alt-right.[16][17][18][19]

Funding

MMfA began with the help of $2 million in donations. According to Byron York of the National Review, additional funding came from MoveOn.org and the New Democrat Network.[20][21][22]

In 2004, MMfA received the endorsement of the Democracy Alliance, a partnership of wealthy and politically active progressive donors. The Alliance itself does not fund endorsees, but many wealthy Alliance members acted on the endorsement and donated directly to MMfA.[23][24][25]

Media Matters has a policy of not comprehensively listing donors. In 2010, six years after the Democracy Alliance initially endorsed MMfA, financier George Soros — a founding and continuing member of the Alliance — announced that he was donating $1 million to MMfA. Soros said his concern over "recent evidence suggesting that the incendiary rhetoric of Fox News hosts may incite violence" had moved him to donate to MMfA.[26][27] During a 2014 CNN interview, David Brock stated that Soros' contributions were "less than 10 percent" of Media Matters' budget.[28] According to Politico, Brock's assertion was misleading: "Media Matters, however has received funding from or formed partnerships with several groups that Soros funds or has funded. These include the Tides Foundation, Democracy Alliance, Moveon.org and the Center for American Progress."[29]

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the group received between $1 million and $2 million in federally backed small business loans from Bank of America as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. The organization stated it would help them retain 64 employees.[30][31]

Major donors include Debora Simon (scioness of Melvin Simon), Joshua Bekenstein and his wife, Tim Gill, Stephen Silberstein Foundation and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation.[32]

Personnel

John Podesta, the former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, provided office space for Media Matters early in its formation at the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank which Podesta established in 2002.[33] Hillary Clinton advised Media Matters in its early stages out of a belief that progressives should follow conservatives in forming think tanks and advocacy groups to support their political goals.[33][34] According to The New York Times, Media Matters "helped lay the groundwork" for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.[35]

Media Matters has hired several of the best known political professionals who have worked for Democratic politicians and for other progressive groups.[22][36] In 2004, National Review referred to MMfA staffers who had recently worked on the presidential campaigns of John Edwards and Wesley Clark, for Congressman Barney Frank, and for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[22]

Eric E. Burns served as MMFA's president until 2011.[37] Burns was succeeded by Matt Butler, and then, in 2013, by Bradley Beychok.[38] In late 2016, Angelo Carusone replaced Bradley Beychok as MMFA's president. Under Carusone, the organization's focus has shifted toward focusing on the alt-right, conspiracy theories, and fake news.[39]

In 2014, the staff of Media Matters voted to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Media Matters management had declined to recognize the union through a card check process, instead exercising its right to force a union election.[40][41][42]

In June 2022, Media Matters threatened to file a lawsuit against a former long-time staff member of their group, who alleged that Media Matters covered up the sexual misconduct of another employee.[43]

Initiatives

Established to "incubate a new generation of liberal pundits", MMFA's Progressive Talent Initiative trains potential pundits in media skills.[44][45]

David Brock established Media Matters Action Network to track conservative politicians and organizations.[46] Organized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group.[46] In November 2010, The New York Times reported that it was "set to take on an expanded role in the 2012 elections, including potentially running television ads".[46]

Brock established American Bridge 21st Century as a super PAC associated with Media Matters for America. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, and a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, chairs the board of directors of American Bridge.[46] American Bridge is focused on opposition research.[47]

In 2009, Media Matters Action Network launched the Conservative Transparency website, aimed at tracking the funding of conservative activist organizations.[48] Media Matters Action Network established the Political Correction project with the goal of holding conservative politicians and advocacy groups accountable.[49]

In December 2010, Media Matters Action Network started EqualityMatters.org, a site "in support of gay equality". At launch the site fully incorporated Media Matters's content on LGBT issues.[50] Designed to provide talking points for liberal activists and politicians, Brock set up the Message Matters project.[44] Media Matters runs the website DropFox.com and works to get advertisers to boycott Fox News. One target, Orbitz, initially referred to Media Matters' efforts as a "smear campaign",[51] but agreed, on June 9, 2011, following a three-week campaign by prominent LGBT organizations, to "review the policies and process used to evaluate where advertising is placed".[52] In 2015, the formal Equality Matters program was deactivated and merged with the LGBT Program within Media Matters.

Criticism of conservative media

Don Imus

On April 4, 2007, Media Matters posted a video clip of Don Imus calling the Rutgers University women's basketball team members "nappy-headed hoes" and made their discovery known in Media Matters' daily e-mailing to hundreds of journalists. The next day, according to The Wall Street Journal, "top news outlets didn't mention the incident." It was objections made to CBS Radio by the National Association of Black Journalists that led to an on-the-air apology from Imus. MSNBC, calling Imus's comments "racist" and "abhorrent", suspended Imus' show, and within minutes, CBS suspended Imus's radio show. The Wall Street Journal said Imus's apology "seemed to make matters worse, with critics latching on to Mr. Imus's use of the phrase 'you people.'" Included among those dissatisfied with Imus's apology and suspension were the coach of the Rutgers team and a group of MSNBC African-American employees. After Procter & Gamble pulled advertising from all of MSNBC's daytime schedule, and other advertisers, including General Motors and American Express requested CBS to cancel any upcoming advertising they had bought for "Imus in the Morning", MSNBC and CBS dropped Imus's show.[53]

Rush Limbaugh "phony soldiers"

In September 2007, Media Matters reported on radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh saying Iraq War veterans opposed to the war were "the phony soldiers". Limbaugh later said he was speaking of only one soldier, Jesse MacBeth, who had falsely claimed to have been decorated for valor but had never seen combat. Limbaugh said he was the victim of a "smear" by Media Matters, which had taken out of context and selectively edited his comments. After Limbaugh published what he said was the entire transcript of phony soldiers discussion, Media Matters reported that over a minute and 30 seconds was omitted without "notation or ellipsis to indicate that there is, in fact, a break in the transcript."[54][55] Limbaugh told National Review that the gap between referring to "phony soldiers" and MacBeth was a delay because his staff printed out an ABC news story that reported on what it called "phony soldiers" and that his transcript and audio edits were "for space and relevance reasons, not to hide anything."[56]

The Associated Press, CNN, and ABC reported on the controversy,[57] as political satirist and fictional pundit Stephen Colbert lampooned Limbaugh and his defenders saying: "Hey, Media Matters, you want to end offensive speech? Then stop recording it for people who would be offended."[58]

Bill O'Reilly Harlem restaurant

In October 2007 television and radio host and commentator Bill O'Reilly said a Media Matters headline declaring "O'Reilly surprised 'there was no difference' between Harlem restaurant and other New York restaurants" took out of context comments he made regarding a pleasant dinner he shared with Al Sharpton at a Harlem restaurant.[59][60][61] O'Reilly said Media Matters misleadingly took comments spoken five minutes apart and presented them as one.[62] In an appearance on NBC's Today with Matt Lauer, Media Matters senior fellow Paul Waldman said Media Matters had included "the full audio, the full transcript, nothing was taken out of context".[63]

Laura Schlessinger racial slur

On August 12, 2010, Media Matters reported that radio host Laura Schlessinger said the word "nigger" eleven times during a discussion with an African-American woman, although Schlessinger did not use the word as a slur. Schlessinger continued to say the word after the caller took offense, saying she thought the woman was being too sensitive and that a double standard was being used to determine who could say the word. Schlessinger also said that those "hypersensitive" about color should not "marry outside of their race". The caller had earlier in the discussion said her husband was white.[64][65] Schlessinger apologized for the epithet the day after the broadcast. A joint statement of Media Matters and other organizations noted that although Schlessinger "attempted to apologize for using the epithet, the racist diatribe on Tuesday's show extends far beyond the use of a single word" and urged advertisers to boycott her show. After General Motors, OnStar, and Motel 6 pulled their advertising, Schlessinger said she would not renew her syndication contract set to expire December 2010.[64][66] In January 2011, her show resumed on satellite radio.[67]

Schlessinger held Media Matters responsible for the boycott, which she called a typical tactic of the group to fulfill its "sole purpose of silencing people". She said the boycotts' "threat of attack on my advertisers and stations" had violated her First Amendment free speech rights.[68][69] Media Matters said that, as the boycott was not "government-sanctioned censorship", her First Amendment rights had not been violated.[70]

War on Fox

During an interview in March 2011, Brock said MMfA would focus its efforts on Fox News and select conservative websites in a new strategy that Brock described as a campaign of "guerrilla warfare and sabotage" and a "war on Fox."[6][71] MMfA said the greater attention given to Fox News was part of a campaign to educate the public about what it regarded as the distortions of conservative media, and the greater attention given to Fox News was in line with its prominence. MMfA said its Drop Fox campaign for advertisers to boycott Fox was also part of the organisation's educational mission. MMfA said that changing Fox, not shutting it down, was its goal.[7]

In December 2013, MMfA Executive VP Angelo Carusone said "The war on Fox is over. And it's not just that it's over, but it was very successful. To a large extent, we won," claiming to have "effectively discredited the network's desire to be seen as 'fair and balanced.'" Around that time, Glenn Beck had departed the network and Sean Hannity's time slot was moved from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.[72]

Tucker Carlson audio recordings

In March 2019, MMfA released audio recordings of Fox News host Tucker Carlson, in which he made remarks demeaning to women between 2006 and 2011 on the call-in show hosted by shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge. Among other comments, Carlson called rape shield laws "unfair", defended Mormon fundamentalist church leader Warren Jeffs, who had been charged of child sexual assault, and called women "extremely primitive". After Carlson's remarks had been widely reported, Carlson tweeted: "Media Matters caught me saying something naughty on a radio show more than a decade ago" and declined to apologize.[73] The following day, MMfA released a second set of audio recordings in which Carlson referred to Iraqis as "semiliterate primitive monkeys" and said they "don't use toilet paper or forks." Carlson also suggested that immigrants to the U.S. should be "hot" or "really smart" and that white men "created civilization".[74]

The Daily Caller, which Carlson co-founded, responded by resurfacing blog posts made by MMfA's president Angelo Carusone. These blog posts included derogatory comments about transvestites, Jews, and people from Japan and Bangladesh. Carusone responded by saying that the posts were supposed to be a "caricature of what a right wing blowhard would sound like if he was living my life" and apologized for the "gross" remarks.[75][76][77][78]

Placement of Twitter advertising

In November 2023, Media Matters published analysis indicating that advertisements of major firms such as IBM were being displayed on the social media platform Twitter next to user posts containing anti-Semitic content, including praise for Adolf Hitler and Nazis. Several prominent companies suspended their advertising on the platform in reaction to the study and to some of Musk's recent posts.[79][80][81]

X Corp. owner Elon Musk filed a suit in a Texas court alleging Media Matters defamed the platform with the intention of hurting its advertising revenues. According to the lawsuit, the group designed account interactions in order to obtain specific advertising placements. Media Matters called the complaint frivolous and an attempt to silence their reporting.[82][83] On the same day as the lawsuit was filed, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into Media Matters for "potentially fraudulent activity", stating that his goal was "to ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations".[84] Media Matters filed suit against Paxton in federal court days later, alleging he had violated the First Amendment to chill the group's work and engaged in unlawful retaliation to punish the group.[85][86] In December 2023, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey opened a similar investigation into Media Matters.[87] Legal experts have criticized Musk's lawsuit, deeming it "frivolous" or "bogus", and saying that it contradicts the First Amendment.[88][89] Lawyer Ken White said that "some might suggest that suing journalists to defend free speech sounds Orwellian and even unhinged", and attributed it to the common sentiment that "free speech includes the right to silence others", concluding that "too many critics of 'cancel culture' are recklessly promoting not the speech of the powerless, but the censorious resentment of the powerful".[90][91]

RealClearPolitics reported in December 2023 that Musk said to Alex Jones during a Twitter Spaces discussion:

Media Matters is an evil propaganda machine, so I am opposed to evil propaganda machines, so we are suing them in every country where they operate. And we will pursue, not just that organization, but anyone funding that organization. I want to be clear about that, anyone funding that organization. Media Matters is an evil propaganda machine. Media Matters can go to hell, and I hope they do.[92]

Reception

In 2008, columnist Jacques Steinberg of The New York Times quoted David Folkenflik of National Public Radio as telling him that although Media Matters looked "at every dangling participle, every dependent clause, every semicolon, every quotation" for the benefit of "a cause, a party, a candidate, that they may have some feelings for", they were still a useful source for leads, partly due to the "breadth of their research". Steinberg further explained: "Ripping a page from an old Republican Party playbook, Media Matters has given the Democrats a weapon they have not had in previous campaigns: a rapid-fire, technologically sophisticated means to call out what it considers 'conservative misinformation' on air or in print, then feed it to a Rolodex of reporters, cable channels and bloggers hungry for grist." Political analyst and columnist Stuart Rothenberg told Steinberg that he did not pay attention to Media Matters, as he had no confidence in "ideological stuff".[21]

According to a 2010 opinion piece by "M. S." on the blog of The Economist magazine, "because it is dedicated to critiquing distortions by conservatives, its critiques carry no weight with conservatives."[93]

Some news organizations have cited Media Matters reports and credited it for bringing attention to issues including the story of James Guckert, formerly a reporter for the web-based Talon News. During George W. Bush's administration, Guckert gained White House press access using the pseudonym Jeff Gannon and attended 155 White House press briefings. It was revealed that he had also worked as a prostitute soliciting male clientele on the Internet with photos of himself fully naked.[94] Columnists and writers such as Paul Krugman and the late Molly Ivins cited Media Matters or identified it as a helpful source.[95][96]

Controversies

Allegations of bias

In 2015, Emma Roller in The Atlantic described MMFA as part of Brock's "three-pronged empire", along with the super PACs American Bridge 21st Century and Correct the Record. Roller wrote that the "ferocity with which Media Matters has defended [Hillary] Clinton can verge on the absurd."[97] After Clinton's loss in the 2016 presidential election, Clio Chang and Alex Shephard wrote in The New Republic that "in our numerous conversations with past Media Matters staff, there was a consensus that in the lead-up to Clinton's announcement of her candidacy in 2015, the organization's priority shifted away from [its stated mission] towards running defense for Clinton" which "damaged Media Matters's credibility and hurt its work in other areas that had previously been strongly respected."[98][99][100] They accused MMfA of lowering its research standards in defense of Clinton, writing "The organization had long ceased to be a mere watchdog, having positioned itself at the center of a group of public relations and advocacy outfits whose mission was to help put Clinton in the White House," the magazine concluded.[101]

Media Matters has been criticized by conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro,[102] who accused it of targeting those with opposing political views with boycotts.[103] Media Matters has also been criticized for ignoring derogatory comments made by Joy Reid while focusing on comments made by Fox News hosts like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham.[104]

Tax-exempt status challenge

C. Boyden Gray, former White House counsel for George H. W. Bush and Fox consultant, sent a letter to the IRS in 2011 alleging that MMfA's activities were unlawful for a non-profit organization and asking the IRS to revoke MMfA's tax-exempt status.[105] Prior to Gray's IRS petition, Politico reported that Fox News had run "more than 30 segments calling for the nonprofit group to be stripped of its tax-exempt status."[7] In another report, Politico said Fox News and Fox Business campaigns held, "The non-profit status as an educator is violated by partisan attacks. That sentiment was first laid out by a piece written by Gray for The Washington Times in June."[106] In an interview with Fox News, Gray said "It's not unlawful. It's just not charitable."[107]

MMfA vice-president Ari Rabin-Havt said "C. Boyden Gray is [a] Koch-affiliated, former Fox News contributor whose flights of fancy have already been discredited by actual experts in tax law."[107] Gray denied having been on Fox's payroll while he was a Fox consultant in 2005, but at that time, Fox had said Gray was a contributor, adding: "We pay contributors for strong opinions."[106][108] Marcus Owens, former director of the IRS's Exempt Organizations Division, told Politico in 2011 that he believed the law was on Media Matters's side.[109] Owens told Fox Business that only an IRS probe could reveal if partisan activity takes up a substantial enough part of MMfA's operations to disallow its tax-free status; the IRS allows limited political activity at nonprofits if it does not take up a substantial amount of their operations.[110]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "IRS Form 990 2013" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Thanks, Lou Dobbs! Progressive Watchdog Media Matters Had a Fine '09". Observer. December 16, 2009. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  3. ↑ Multiple sources:
  4. ↑ Elliott, Richard DeShay (September 10, 2020). "The Tea Party: Grassroots Conservatism in the Obama Years & Into the Trump Presidency". Rochester, NY. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3690634. S2CID 230666925. SSRN 3690634. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Rutenberg, Jim (May 3, 2004). "New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Smith, Ben (March 26, 2011). "Media Matters' war against Fox". Politico. Archived from the original on March 28, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 "Fox News takes on Media Matters". Politico. July 7, 2011. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  8. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (December 19, 2010). "One Battle Won, Gay Rights Activists Shift Sights". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  9. ↑ Zengerle, Jason (May 22, 2011). "If I Take Down Fox, Is All Forgiven?". New York. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Hiatt, Brian (July 28, 2019). "The 24/7 Fight Against Fox News". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  11. ↑ MMfA has used the Government Accountability Office in make fact-checking articles. For example, GMA, CNN, print media fail to challenge Bush's missile defense claim Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Pentagon reports have been used to debunk claims of WMD claims, such as Hannity criticized media, Bush administration... Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, mediamatters.org, July 7, 2006. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  12. ↑ Brass, Kevin (March 23, 2007). "Media Watch: Sunday Morning Blues?". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Black and White and Re(a)d All Over: The Conservative Advantage in Syndicated Op-Ed Columnists". Media Matters for America. September 12, 2006. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2007.
  14. ↑ "John Diaz An Editor's Note/Beyond the right-left labels". The San Francisco Chronicle. September 30, 2007. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  15. ↑ Byers, Dylan (February 26, 2015). "Media Matters: 'All hands on deck' for Bill O'Reilly". Politico. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  16. ↑ El Jefe (December 27, 2016). "Misinformer of the Year". Juanita Jean's. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  17. ↑ Haraldsson, Hrafnkell (December 27, 2016). "Media Matters Names Fake News and 'Alt-Right' Misinformer of the Year". Politics USA. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Elon Musk's X sues Media Matters over antisemitism analysis". BBC news.
  19. ↑ Conger, Kate; Mac, Ryan. "X Sues Media Matters Over Research on Ads Next to". The New York Times.
  20. ↑ Rutenberg, Jim (May 3, 2004). "New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right". The New York Times. p. A21. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  21. 1 2 Steinberg, Jacques (October 31, 2008). "An All-Out Attack on 'Conservative Misinformation'". The New York Times. p. A15. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  22. 1 2 3 York, Byron (May 28, 2004). "David Brock is Buzzing Again". National Review. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  23. ↑ VandeHei, Jim; Cillizza, Chris (July 17, 2006). "A New Alliance of Democrats Spreads Funding; But Some in Party Bristle at Secrecy and Liberal Tilt". The Washington Post. p. A1. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Wash. Times op-ed expanded on O'Reilly's false attacks on Soros and Media Matters". Media Matters for America. May 9, 2007. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  25. ↑ How Vast The Left Wing Conspiracy? Archived October 24, 2008, at the Library of Congress Web Archives. Hudson Institute, November 30, 2006.
  26. ↑ Shear, Michael (October 20, 2010). "Soros Donates $1 Million to Media Matters". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  27. ↑ Smith, Ben (October 20, 2010). "Soros gives to Media Matters, publicly". Politico. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  28. ↑ Transcript of David Brock on Soros contributions to Media Matters Archived February 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, CNN. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Soros gives $1 million dollars to Media Matters". Politico. October 20, 2010. Archived from the original on March 13, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  30. ↑ James Bikales (July 6, 2020). "Here are the major media companies that received coronavirus relief loans". The Hill. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  31. ↑ Syed, Moiz; Willis, Derek (July 7, 2020). "MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA - Coronavirus Bailouts - ProPublica". ProPublica. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  32. ↑ https://freebeacon.com/democrats/democratic-megadonors-bankroll-media-matters-leaked-donor-list-shows/
  33. 1 2 Thrush, Glenn (September 6, 2006). "Switching allegiances". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  34. ↑ Todd, Chuck (November 15, 2007). "Calling Out Media Matters' Bias". MSNBC. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  35. ↑ Schmidt, Michael S.; Confessore, Nicholas (May 18, 2015). "Clinton Friend's Memos on Libya Draw Scrutiny to Politics and Business". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  36. ↑ Rothstein, Betsy (November 3, 2008). "Fighting ire with fire". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  37. ↑ "Former Media Matters President Responds to Beck's Fox News Departure". Bullfight Strategies. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  38. ↑ Tau, Byron (May 1, 2013). "Media Matters names new president". Politico. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Media Matters to pivot away from focus on Fox News, as it names new president". POLITICO. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  40. ↑ Jamieson, Dave (July 1, 2014). "Media Matters Staff Votes To Join Union". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  41. ↑ Jamieson, Dave (April 28, 2014). "Media Matters Employees Feel 'Betrayed' By Management's Opposition To Their Union". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  42. ↑ Gold, Hadas (April 29, 2014). "Media Matters 'not opposed' to unionizing". Politico. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  43. ↑ Baragona, Justin (June 7, 2022). "Media Matters Hits Ex-Staffer With Lawsuit Threat Over Vague Claims". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  44. 1 2 Zengerie, Jason (May 22, 2011). "If I Take Down Fox, Is All Forgiven?". New York magazine. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  45. ↑ Horowitz, Jason (March 22, 2011). "Media Matters boot camp readies liberal policy wonks for the camera's close-up". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  46. 1 2 3 4 Luo, Michael (November 23, 2010). "Effort to Set Up Liberal Counterweight to G.O.P. Groups Begins". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  47. ↑ Haberman, Maggie (July 17, 2015). "David Brock, Key Hillary Clinton Ally, to Work More Closely With Her Campaign". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  48. ↑ Eggen, Dan (November 3, 2009). "Liberal group eyes conservatives' connections". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  49. ↑ Terris, Ben (October 28, 2010). "Outside Conservative Ads Overwhelming the Midterm Campaigns". National Journal.
  50. ↑ Sheryl Stolberg (December 19, 2010). "One Battle Won, Gay Activists Shift Sights". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  51. ↑ Bond, Paul (May 19, 2011). "Orbitz Backs Fox News Channel Amid Media Matters' 'Smear Campaign'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  52. ↑ "Orbitz agrees to review advertising policies following campaign by LGBT groups". Miamiherald.typepad.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  53. ↑ Barnes, Brooks; et al. (April 13, 2007). "Behind the Fall of Imus, A Digital Brush Fire". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2007.
  54. ↑ "Limbaugh falsely recasts 'phony soldiers' smear". Media Matters. September 28, 2007. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  55. ↑ "Limbaugh selectively edited 'phony soldiers' clip, claimed it was "the entire transcript"". Media Matters. September 28, 2007. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  56. ↑ "Limbaugh Makes His Case". National Review Online. October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  57. ↑ "Rush Limbaugh Comments Spark Outrage". National Review Online. October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  58. ↑ "Colbert: "Hey, Media Matters, you want to end offensive speech? Then stop recording it for people who would be offended."". Media Matters for America. October 9, 2007. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2008.
  59. ↑ "Media Matters: O'Reilly surprised "there was no difference" between Harlem restaurant and other New York restaurants". Media Matters for America. September 21, 2007. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  60. ↑ Bauder, David (September 26, 2007). "Bill O'Reilly Says He's Being Smeared". USA Today. Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  61. ↑ "CNN Goes Over to the Dark Side". Fox News Channel. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2007.
  62. ↑ "Media Matters and the Corrupt Press on the Run". Fox News Channel. September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2007.
  63. ↑ "Media Matters' Waldman: "[I]f Bill O'Reilly got caught robbing a bank he would say he was taken out of context"". Media Matters for America. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  64. 1 2 Plambeck, Joseph (August 19, 2010). "'Dr. Laura' Retreats After Use of Epithet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  65. ↑ "Full Audio: Dr. Laura Schlessinger's N-word rant". Media Matters for America. August 12, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  66. ↑ "Dr. Laura to end her radio show". CNN. August 20, 2010. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  67. ↑ "Laura Ingraham". Satellite Radio Playground. November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  68. ↑ "CNN's John Roberts* corrects Dr. Laura on inaccurate attack against Speaker Pelosi", mediamatters.org. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  69. ↑ "Dr. Laura to End Her Radio Show (transcript)". Larry King Live. CNN. August 17, 2010. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  70. ↑ Palin ratchets up absurd and offensive defense of Dr. Laura, claims they've been "shackled" by critics Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, MediaMatters.org. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  71. ↑ Hayden, Erik (March 28, 2011). "The Weird Case Against Media Matters's Non-Profit Status". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  72. ↑ Quote from MMfA Executive Vice President Angelo Carusone Archived February 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, The Huffington Post; December 13, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  73. ↑ "Tucker Carlson refuses to apologize amid uproar over past comments on 'extremely primitive' women". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  74. ↑ "Fox News host Tucker Carlson uses racist, homophobic language in second set of recordings". The Washington Post. March 11, 2019. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  75. ↑ Axelrod, Tal (March 13, 2019). "Media Matters president facing scrutiny for derogatory comments, racial slurs in resurfaced posts". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  76. ↑ Palmer, Ewan (March 14, 2019). "Donald Trump Jr. wants to know where's the outrage over Media Matters president's blog comments". Newsweek. Archived from the original on March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  77. ↑ Levine, Jon. "Tucker Carlson Lashes Out at Media Matters Chief Angelo Carusone Over Past 'Racist Blog'". www.thewrap.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  78. ↑ Choi, David. "'Everything is irony': Fox News' Tucker Carlson fires back at progressive watchdog amid resurrected offensive statements". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  79. ↑ Taylor, Harry (November 18, 2023). "Elon Musk to file 'thermonuclear lawsuit' as advertisers desert X". The Guardian.
  80. ↑ Montgomery, Blake (November 17, 2023). "White House condemns Elon Musk's 'abhorrent' antisemitic tweets". The Guardian.
  81. ↑ Montgomery, Blake (November 18, 2023). "Apple, Disney and IBM to pause ads on X after antisemitic Elon Musk tweet". The Guardian. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  82. ↑ Ortutay, Barbara (November 20, 2023). "Musk's X sues liberal advocacy group Media Matters over its report on ads next to hate groups' posts". Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  83. ↑ Dang, Sheila (November 21, 2023). "X sues Media Matters after report about ads next to antisemitic content". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  84. ↑ Vinall, Frances; Bella, Timothy (November 21, 2023). "Musk's X sues Media Matters after report shows ads next to pro-Nazi posts". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  85. ↑ Ingram, David (December 12, 2023). "Media Matters sues Texas attorney general over response to Elon Musk dispute". NBC News.
  86. ↑ "Media Matters fires back at Texas AG in row over Elon Musk's X". The Independent.
  87. ↑ Elon Musk's fight against Media Matters gets backup from Missouri attorney general
  88. ↑ Fung, Brian (November 21, 2023). "Legal critics blast Elon Musk's lawsuit against Media Matters as 'weak' and 'bogus'". CNN Business. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  89. ↑ Prater, Nia (November 21, 2023). "Does Elon Musk's Media Matters Lawsuit Have a Chance?". Intelligencer. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  90. ↑ Robertson, Adi (November 20, 2023). ""Some might suggest that suing journalists to defend free speech sounds Orwellian and even unhinged."". The Verge. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  91. ↑ White, Ken (November 20, 2023). "My Free Speech Means You Have To Shut Up". The Popehat Report. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  92. ↑ Haines, Tim (December 10, 2023). "Elon Musk: "Media Matters" Is An Evil Propaganda Machine, We're Suing Them". RealClearPolitics.
  93. ↑ M.S. (May 5, 2010). "Epistemic closure and political disinformation". The Economist. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  94. ↑ "Web CEO in midst of political scandal". February 18, 2005. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  95. ↑ "CNN – Molly Ivins: Developments in journalism's frontier". CNN. May 11, 2006. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  96. ↑ Krugman, Paul (April 30, 2010). "The Oil Spill Is Obama's Fault". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  97. ↑ Roller, Emma. "Media Matters and the Battle for the Hillary Clinton Narrative". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  98. ↑ Henwood, Doug (2016). My Turn: Hillary Clinton Targets the Presidency. Seven Stories Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-60980-757-3.
  99. ↑ "What Happens to Media Matters in a Post-Hillary World?". The New Republic. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  100. ↑ Calderone, Michael; Stein, Sam (July 24, 2015). "The New York Times Corrects Explosive Hillary Clinton Email Story Amid Campaign Pushback". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  101. ↑ Clio Chang; Alex Shephard (December 19, 2016). "What Happens to Media Matters in a Post-Hillary World?". The New Republic. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  102. ↑ Tavernise, Sabrina (November 23, 2017). "Ben Shapiro, a Provocative 'Gladiator,' Battles to Win Young Conservatives (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  103. ↑ Shapiro, Ben (June 12, 2019). "The Media/Democrat Complex Strikes Big Tech". Real Clear Politics. Archived from the original on November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  104. ↑ Levine, Jon (March 14, 2019). "Why Does Media Matters Only Seem to Target Fox News Stars Like Tucker Carlson?". TheWrap. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  105. ↑ Elizabeth MacDonald (August 4, 2011). "Former White House Counsel to IRS: Pull Media Matters' Tax-Exempt Status". Foxbusiness.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  106. 1 2 Everett, Burgess (August 5, 2011). "Former W.H. lawyer to IRS: Rescind Media Matters's non-profit status". Politico. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  107. 1 2 Wemple, Erik (August 5, 2011). "Gray petitions against Media Matters". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  108. ↑ "Ed Klein, Drowning in Ink and Gasping for Air". The Washington Post. July 11, 2005. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  109. ↑ Hagey, Keach (July 7, 2011). "Fox News takes on Media Matters". Dyn.politico.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  110. ↑ Elizabeth MacDonald (August 4, 2011). "Former White House Counsel to IRS: Pull Media Matters' Tax-Exempt Status". Foxbusiness.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.