This story of alleged fraud has spread without the most basic fact checking or scrutiny--through right-wing media, but also outlets like NYT. Publications are boosting unverified Trump admin claims being used to justify an assault on MN's Somali communities. Crucial by @matthewccook5.bsky.social

Got a new one from @matthewccook5.bsky.social and our friends at @exposedbycmd.bsky.social on the rather credulous reporting pushing the Minnesota benefit fraud scandals, and the blanket statements associating all Somalians with this thievery. prospect.org/2025/12/29/c...

The corporate media's coverage of the Minnesota frauds has missed key facts. Numbers have been exaggerated and administration talking points have been echoed, namely that Somali Minnesotans are inclined towards fraud. Our latest report: www.exposedbycmd.org/2025/12/29/c...

I feel like "attention hacking" is most of politics now. The Minnesota aid fraud story is becoming a perfect example. Recap: In 2022, the Biden DOJ filed the first charges against dozens of fraudsters, many of them Somali-American, who'd fleeced a state food aid program. (1/x)

“The Heritage Foundation, the intellectual engine behind the 922-page blueprint that has become the key policy manual for Trump’s second term, is partnering with a constellation of European nationalist far-right movements to export its playbook for countering progressive policies.” 11/10/25 …1/

In 2024, Pence's Advancing American Freedom brought in $13.7 million and spent $11 million according to its latest IRS filing obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy.

Elusive street artist Banksy appeared to confirm Monday that a new mural in London, depicting two children lying down and pointing up at the sky, is his latest work. https://to.pbs.org/496w5im

"Anti-trafficking advocates say the US Department of Justice’s failure to spend nearly $90m appropriated by Congress is impeding law-enforcement investigations and exposing survivors to homelessness and the risk of deportation, jail time or re-exploitation."

“Former Vice President Mike Pence’s political group is poaching top officials from the conservative Heritage Foundation amid growing ideological fights within the conservative movement and backlash at the think tank.” 12/22/25 (No gift link bc I don’t subscribe.) 1/ www.wsj.com/politics/ele...

NEW from @alleenbrown.bsky.social in partnership with @drilledmedia.bsky.social Greenpeace Fights for Survival Against a Fossil Fuel Giant’s $345-Million “SLAPP” Suit

See also bsky.app/profile/matt...

Council for National Policy operation to shut down the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center unfolding in Congress right now in a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. The Daily Signal (Heritage Fdn), Family Research Council, and Turning Point USA are all CNP. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrLw...

CNN has suddenly discovered Tennessee's Patriot Front compound that was a subject of an extensive NewsChannel 5 investigation back in March. Here is my report: 1/ www.newschannel5.com/news/newscha...

A new report documents a hostile environment for US journalists this year, with 32 arrests and 170 assaults. Read Jem Bartholomew. www.cjr.org/the_media_to...

“‘For the Reinvention of Man’: How a Conservative Debating Society at Harvard Pushed Women From Its Ranks *** The John Adams Society began quietly excluding women from membership this semester…It is now effectively functioning as a single-sex organization.” 12/8/25… 1/

ICC-wanted war crimes fugitive PM Netanyahu, who has presided over a 2+ year, daily live-streamed slaughter of 70,000+ Palestinian men, women & children—while claiming it’s done in the name of Jews worldwide—today blamed Australia’s recognition of Palestine for encouraging antisemitism & causing...

Rightwing operative & voter suppressionist Cleta Mitchell has published an updated version of her Election Integrity Network's "Citizens Guide to Election Integrity." The online booklet promotes a number of EIN national working groups from "technology & security" to "Voter Eligibility & Voter Rolls"

Rob Reiner on Christian nationalism

"The Heritage Foundation, an influential rightwing thinktank currently mired in controversy over its president’s apparent apology for extremism, has appointed as a director the founder of a secretive all-male network of Christian nationalist fraternal lodges."

Look who’s circling Venezuela... During his interview of Maria Corina Machado, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale tells her: “We have a lot of friends here who’ve had to flee VZ & who are huge fans of yours, & we’re very excited to come back & invest & BUILD w/ u when u get to be a free country.” 1/

⚡️NEW from @dropsitenews.com: "Ask Jeffrey": Epstein Ran Wexner's Pro-Israel Philanthropy Machine, Emails Reveal The Wexner Foundation has long claimed Epstein had "did not make decisions regarding the use of Foundation’s funds.” New emails show that is...false. open.substack.com/pub/dropsite...

The far right Heritage Foundation, the group behind Project 2025, raised 32.6% more in 2024 than in 2023, its latest IRS filing obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy shows. It brought in $133.9 mil and spent a whopping $142.2 mil last year.

Have you ever had a bad neighbor? The kind that makes you sick, literally? Big Oil company Energy Transfer is all of our neighbors. Their long history of spills, explosions, emissions, and safety violations proves that they’re harming communities. Read More: www.greenpeace.org/usa/bad-neig...

SCOOP: Consumers' Research, the group deployed by the Right to fight "woke capitalism" deeply tied to Leonard Leo brought in $9.4 mil in revenue in 2024, according to its latest IRS filing obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy. CR paid Leo's CRC Advisors $676,450 for “digital media” in 2024

Important piece from @kenklippenstein.bsky.social. "Attorney General Pam Bondi is ordering the FBI to 'compile a list of groups or entities engaging in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism,' according to a Justice Department memo" published on Klippenstein's site.

NEW ORLEANS OFFICIALS: “We insist (Trump’s ICE goons) clearly ID themselves… there is no precedent for masked law enforcement… they have ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY… citizens are being racially profiled, chased, hunted… the chaos and lack of professionalism is ALARMING…”

White nationalist + White House + barrels of dark money = really bad...

SCOOP: White nationalist Stephen Miller's America First Legal's revenue more than TRIPLED in 2024 to $32 million It's latest IRS filing for 2024 obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that it spent $15.2 million of this huge haul. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

If you’ve ever wondered, “where did all of these awful bills that dismantle public ed, attack minorities & make climate change worse come from?” The answer is ALEC. ALEC is a bill mill that drafts up terrible bills to give to right wing legislators to pass off as their own. Copy and paste stuff.

3/ Rufo is reacting to this important new article in @theatlantic.com: “The Heritage Foundation’s recent decision to hire [Claremont alum] Scott Yenor… poses serious questions about the institution’s beliefs concerning the equality of women in the workplace and perhaps even as citizens…” Gift Link:

Chris Rufo—a prominent anti-DEI crusader—-says the “idea that private companies should be able to prioritize hiring married men w/ families is completely within the bounds of rzbl debate, &…it's absurd that individuals cannot hire whomever they want [ie, discriminate] in their own companies…” 1/

NEW: The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is holding its annual States and Nation Policy Summit at the four-star Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Texas this week. Attendees are debating model policies that would suppress the vote, advance MAGA priorities, further endanger the climate, and more.

SCOOP: The New Civil Liberties Alliance, the rightwing law group that brought the very first lawsuit against Trump's IEEPA emergency tariff orders, brought in $8.3 mil in revenue in 2024, according to its latest IRS filing obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy. The group spent $6.4 mil.

I work with @exposedbycmd.bsky.social. We do great work. Please consider supporting this Giving Tuesday: centerformediaanddemocracy.salsalabs.org/donate/index...

This second reign of Trump threatens to usher in a dark era of authoritarianism, with the corporate media already capitulating to his threats. But CMD will not back down. Please take a moment to support our independent investigations. centerformediaanddemocracy.salsalabs.org/donate/index...

“Unknown at the time, Jeffrey Epstein gave feedback on talking points to discredit Mearsheimer and Walt, and used his extensive social network to circulate allegations of anti-semitism against the two scholars.”

SCOOP: Billionaire Charles Koch's astroturf operation Americans for Prosperity raised $223.7 mil in 2024, according to its latest IRS filing obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy. This is a 20% increase over 2023! AFP spent $201.4 mil of it in 2024. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

SCOOP: The American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry’s largest trade association, again brought in over a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue in 2024, its latest IRS filing obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy shows. API spent $255K, more than it raised in revenue.

NEW: Last year DonorsTrust distributed $195.3 mil in grants to the more than 300 right-wing influence groups, litigation centers, media outlets, climate deniers, pro-gun groups, and other tax-exempt organizations that underpin America’s far-right infrastructure. www.exposedbycmd.org/2025/11/21/d...

NEW: Last year DonorsTrust distributed $195.3 mil in grants to the more than 300 right-wing influence groups, litigation centers, media outlets, climate deniers, pro-gun groups, and other tax-exempt organizations that underpin America’s far-right infrastructure.

Thousands of people protested for climate action in Belém, the Brazilian city hosting this year's #COP30 climate summit. https://www.democracynow.org/2025/11/17/cop30_protest

Kevin Roberts was brought in to lead the Heritage Foundation to drive it further to right so that it would better align with MAGA.

In this new essay on the internal culture of the right, I report on something big: allegations by a Heritage Foundation insider that the organization has allowed a toxic culture of "open misogyny and racism" to grow among a segment of the staff www.vox.com/on-the-right...

“Many of the women say that they were pressured to have unwanted or unnecessary gynecological procedures while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”

“Housing shortage – Jews to blame," letter sticker, German Reich, 1938 zwangsraeume.berlin/en/context

Judith Butler is one of nearly 300 writers and scholars condemning the Iranian authorities’ recent arrest of several writers, translators, and scholars in Tehran. Even though they have been released on bail, all charges against them must be dropped. pen.org/press-releas...

As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history. Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX

SCOOP: The rightwing extremist group Turning Point USA is holding rallies in Ohio at University of Cincinnati and Miami University in December with anti-ESG zealot Vivek Ramaswamy. Recent polls show Ramaswamy in a tight race with Amy Acton for Governor.

This weekend, the New York Times ran a story claiming Sierra Club’s values have diluted our mission. They couldn’t be more wrong. The list of their errors is too long for one social post, but we go over some examples in these slides.

PUBLISHED: ALEC Pushes Power Grid “Stability” Bills to Favor Fossil Fuels Over Renewables #ALECExposed