Reporters with various forms of "fake news" from an 1894 illustration by Frederick Burr Opper. (Photo: College of Arts and Humanities fresnostate.edu)
Post-Trump Presidential Win, Discerning Truth from Propaganda in ‘FAKE NEWS’
Google-Funded, leftist funded news group is anti-cop, anti-tough-on-crime propaganda
By Katy Grimes, November 19, 2024 10:12 am
In my email feed today was a screed from “The Appeal” news organization with the subject, “Solidarity journalism in the Trump era.”
My interest peaked, I remained sufficiently suspicious of the word “solidarity.” But I bit and read the email:
“Journalism is crucial to democracy, but the news media have fallen short. From ‘both-sides’ reporting that bestowed credibility on Trump’s authoritarian politics, to parroting tough-on-crime narratives that have undermined reform and pushed Democrats to the right—it’s abundantly clear that we need strong independent media to do things differently.”
Of course it was about Trump. Trump is an “authoritarian,” and “tough on crime” narratives are a bad thing? They continue:
“Unlike many mainstream media outlets, we report from the stance that the criminal legal system is rife with injustice. At the same time, we shine a light on the extensive evidence showing how we, as a society, can and must do things differently.”
They openly admit they are more concerned with “Injustice” done to perpetrators in the legal system, rather than “injustice” done to crime victims. That’s Marxist theory. And it’s especially tone deaf given that in California 70% of voters just overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36 to overturn much of Prop. 47, returning to allowing felony charges for possessing certain drugs and for thefts under $950, if defendant has two prior drug or theft convictions. The people are pretty sick and tired of California’s soft-on-criminals agenda.
The Appeal continues:
“The Appeal embraces ‘solidarity journalism.’ What does this look like in practice?
“The Appeal rejects copaganda, and challenges harmful narratives that fuel mass incarceration. We’re skeptical of empty political gestures that fail to bring about real change. And we push back on mainstream media impulses to center ‘perfect victims’ and ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ framing. We take pride in digging deeper, and focusing on the people at the core of the story.”
That’s a new word: “Copaganda.”
The purpose of copaganda is to sway public opinion away from positive law enforcement images, and redirect attention to negative images of law enforcement.
They continue:
- We take extra care when interviewing the family of a police shooting or jail death victim, so that telling their stories isn’t re-traumatizing.
- We build relationships with activists on the ground, so we’re in a better position to get the full story.
- We interrogate the official law enforcement version of events, often by obtaining documents that contradict or complicate their claims.
They “interrogate” the official law enforcement version…
“This approach takes time and resources. We rely on readers who believe in solidarity journalism to help us keep it front and center in our reporting.”
Forgot to mention – this email from The Appeal is a fundraising solicitation.
“Whether you’re able to give a little or a lot, your support will make a huge difference in our ability to meet the moment with the care and tenacity it requires.”
With gratitude,
Meg O’Conner, Senior Reporter
A peek into The Appeal is enlightening. It is a non-profit formed in 2021.
“The Appeal seeks to catalyze change within and to the U.S. criminal legal system.”
“We define our impact as changes that reduce harm at a large, systemic scale; directly on individual lives; and shifts in public discourse—as well as significant steps towards these changes. We track our impact on four key audiences: Institutional, Community, Individual, and Media.”
However, on their IRS Form 990, they are more direct:
THE APPEAL NEWSROOM EDUCATES THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE HARMS OF THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM.
The Appeal is supported by myriad “philanthropic” groups and the Google “News Equity Fund,” which claims “a global commitment to provide financial support and opportunities to news organizations that primarily serve underrepresented communities.”
“Our aim is to strengthen inclusion, further empower a diverse news ecosystem, and specifically support small and medium sized publishers creating original journalism for underrepresented audiences around the world.”
Not really. They seek to silence cops and empty prisons, while ignoring the damage done to crime victims and their families.
Revenue for The Appeal in 2022 was $964,900. Expenses were $883,019.
Gifts, grants, contributions, and membership fees received in 2021 was $280,498. By 2022, the gifts grew to nearly $1M – $963,449.
Amazing, unheard of growth. So I looked at their donors.
The Just Trust: “is a philanthropic intermediary that works to build the public, political and financial will needed to protect and advance durable reforms to the justice system – state by state and across the country. Influence Watch reports, “It is left-of-center grant-making organization established and funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. On the board is Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg, and advisor to President Barack Obama David Plouffe.
“Meadow Fund: “works in collaboration with communities on the frontlines of social justice movements fighting for a more just society.”
FWD.us: “a bipartisan organization with a mission to advance commonsense and long-overdue reforms to our failed immigration and criminal justice systems.” Influence Watch reports, it is a liberal expansionist immigration and criminal justice policy advocacy group based in the United States. It lobbies and advocates for left-of-center expansionist immigration policy, legal status for illegal immigrants in the United States, left-of-center changes to the criminal justice system, and changes to the U.S. education system for science and technology education. FWD.us was launched in 2013 with help from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. 1
The Public Welfare Foundation: “our efforts focus on catalyzing a transformative approach to justice that is community-led, restorative, and racially just through investments in criminal justice and youth justice.” Influence Watch reports it is a left-of-center grant-making organization founded in 1947, and has given more than $500 million in grants to left-leaning organizations.
Wellspring Philanthropic Fund: “advancing racial justice, advancing gender justice, advancing economic justice.” Influence Watch reports Wellspring Philanthropic Fund was formerly known as the Matan B’Seter Foundation, created in 2001 as part of an elaborate and secretive network of grantmaking organizations funded by three hedge fund billionaires: Andrew Shechtel, David Gelbaum and C. Frederick Taylor. 11 Philanthropy News Digest described their intent as to “disguise” donations and “avoid almost all public scrutiny.”
Reva and David Logan Foundation: “a Chicago-based family foundation that provides strategic grants to support social justice, the arts and investigative journalism both in Chicago and around the world.” Influence Watch reports that this foundation provides funding towards left-of-center initiatives advocating social justice reform, journalism and media outreach, and the arts.
Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation: “Because the foundation has limited funds, the Shaw Trustees are interested in funding initiatives that demonstrate a current awareness of important problems confronting our criminal and juvenile justice systems.”
Fund for Nonprofit News at The Miami Foundation: “The Miami Foundation is incubating a collaborative fund that will focus on making bold investments in expanding local news across the country. Grantmaking will begin in 2024.” Influence Watch reports The foundation fiscally sponsors a program titled Representative Democracy, which promotes left-of-center diversity, equity, and inclusion philosophy within government. Funders of the foundation include many notable left-of-center grantmaking organizations such as the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Democracy Fund.
The Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University: “recognizes that criminal justice reform is complicated and controversial, yet a vital component to a more just society.”
LION Publishers: “A world where thriving, independent news organizations provide equitable access to inclusive and impactful news and information.”
Google News Equity Fund: “Our aim is to strengthen inclusion, further empower a diverse news ecosystem, and specifically support small and medium sized publishers creating original journalism for underrepresented audiences around the world.” Influence Watch reports The Google News Initiative was launched in 2018 and has provided over $189 million in funding to news organizations and journalist training programs. The project offers a variety of training tools centered around using technology and journalism.
The project has partnered with openly left-leaning news outlets such as Vox and The Guardian, as well as ostensibly mainstream metropolitan-liberal news sources including the Washington Post and the New York Times. 1
You get the idea – it’s all leftist philanthropic groups supporting this anti-cop, anti-law enforcement, anti-tough-on-crime propaganda and agenda. This is the rest of the list of donors:
NEO Philanthropy: Influence Watch reports NEO Philanthropy (formerly Public Interest Projects) is a New York-based nonprofit that serves as a fiscal clearinghouse for left-of-center causes. The group serves as a vehicle for center-left foundations to pool resources, hosts donor-advised funds, and sponsors various liberal projects. 1
Proteus Fund: Influence Watch reports Since the Fund’s creation in 1995, Proteus has routed hundreds of millions of dollars from major grant-making foundations and anonymous donors on the Left to activist groups targeting issues including legalizing same-sex marriage, reducing religious freedom to dissent policies on gay rights and abortion, abolishing capital punishment, reducing military spending, and promoting liberal campaign finance policies.
One Valley Community Foundation
Bob and Barbara Roswell Gift Fund
Jason Flom
O’Connor Family Fund
Maxine & Jack Zarrow Family Foundation
Greg Dyer
Stuart Shapiro
Joanne Thompson
Jasper Wang
The clues are usually there in the email message with the words used, and especially “justice” anything. Sometimes it just a good exercise to dig below the surface… and this time we found a bunch of cop haters.
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