The Institute for Public Accuracy is a left-of-center advocacy and media outreach nonprofit that promotes left-of-center perspectives by connecting left-of-center commentators and analysts with media outlets. The organization is funded by the Tides Foundation, Madison Community Foundation, and the National Philanthropic Trust, among other donors. ¹

Prior to the 2003 Iraq War, the organization hosted former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter² and actor Sean Penn on a filmmaking tour to produce a series of documentaries critical of the George W. Bush administration’s position that then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein must be deposed. ³

Founding and History

Institute for Public Accuracy was founded in 1997 by Norman Solomon, a journalist, media critic, and associate of the left-wing media-criticism organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). ⁴

The group was incubated with the help of a two-year $100,000 per year grant from the Stern Family Fund, a private foundation that has also supported other left-of-center organizations such as the Proteus Fund, Public Citizen, the Tides Foundation and the Tides Center. ⁵

The Institute formed in Oakland, California around 1997, eventually opening an office in the National Press Building in Washington, D.C. ⁶

Activities

Overseas Trips

In 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the group sponsored a trip to Iraq by former United Nations weapons inspector and documentary filmmaker Scott Ritter. ²Ritter subsequently produced at least one documentary opposing then-U.S. President George W. Bush’s case for military action against Iraq, arguing that Iraq posed no threat to the United States. ²

The organization also hosted two-time Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn on a visit to Iraq. ³

ExposeFacts and Whisper

ExposeFacts is an initiative by the Institute for Public Accuracy to promote the revelations and protect the identities of whistleblowers. ⁷

With support from the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Institute for Public Accuracy relies on the institute’s network of individuals with expertise and experience in intelligence, military, civil liberties, and corporate malfeasance to assess and disseminate documents and information. ⁷

The Whistleblower and Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) has provided whistleblowers and journalists pro bono legal services and workshops. ⁸

Leadership

Norman Solomon is the executive director and founder of the Institute for Public Accuracy. According to the nonprofit’s 2023 tax filing, Solomon received compensation of $45,828 from the organization in 2022. ⁹

Aside from his association with the left-of-center media criticism organization, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), Solomon is known for his work as a freelance journalist and left-of-center activist, with bylines in The Hill, The Intercept, San Francisco Chronicle, and HuffPost. ¹⁰

Solomon has previously advocated against the usage of nuclear energy and development of atomic weapons. He took several visits to the then-Soviet Union in the 1980’s to advocate against nuclear weapon testing, including a sit-in at the U.S embassy with military veterans. ¹¹ In 2011, Solomon ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for the state of California’s 2^nd Congressional District.  ¹²

Funding

The Institute for Public Accuracy received $1,328,364 in gifts, grants, and contributions in the 2022 fiscal year, according to the organization’s tax filings. Between 2018 and 2022, tax documents show, the group received a total of $4,997,387. ¹³

Between 2020 and 2022, the Institute for Public Accuracy received grants from the Madison Community Foundation, Amg Charitable Gift Foundation, Tides Foundation, Network for Good, and National Philanthropic Trust. ¹

In addition to these organizations, the Institute for Public Accuracy’s website lists the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, Wallace Action Fund, Susan Adelman and Claudio Llanos, Park Foundation, Bydale Foundation, Stewart Mott Charitable Trust, Vermont Community Foundation, Lucy and Isadore B. Adelman Foundation, Bertha Foundation, Quitiplas Foundation, Santa Cruz Community Foundation, and Edward Herman Trust as its supporters. ⁶

1. “Nonprofit Explorer – Search for EIN 94-3281861 in Filing Text from 2020 Onwards,” ProPublica, accessed October 7, 2024, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?q=94-3281861&sort=best&submit=Apply&year%5B%5D=2020&year%5B%5D=2021&year%5B%5D=2022.
2. Paula Zahn, “Scott Ritter: Case Against Iraq Is Speculation,” CNN, March 10, 2003, https://web.archive.org/web/20030310075906/https://edition.cnn.com/2002/US/09/13/ritter.cnna/index.html?related.
3. John F. Burns, “Threats and Responses: Hollywood; Actor Follows His Own Script on Iraq and War,” The New York Times, December 16, 2002, sec. World, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/16/world/threats-and-responses-hollywood-actor-follows-his-own-script-on-iraq-and-war.html.
4. “Norman Solomon,” Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, May 18, 2021, https://fair.org/my-profile/.
5. “About Us,” Institute for Public Accuracy, accessed October 4, 2024, https://accuracy.org/about-us/; Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society, “Stern Family Fund (1992–2005),” Duke University (blog), accessed October 4, 2024, https://cspcs.sanford.duke.edu/cspcs-publication/stern-family-fund-1992-2005/.
6. “About Us,” Institute for Public Accuracy, accessed October 4, 2024, https://accuracy.org/about-us/
7.  Institute for Public Accuracy, “About ExposeFacts,” ExposeFacts, accessed October 4, 2024, https://exposefacts.org/about-exposefacts/.
8. Institute for Public Accuracy, “WHISPeR,” WHISPeR, accessed October 4, 2024, https://whisper.exposefacts.org/.
9. Institute for Public Accuracy, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2023, Part VII, Section A.
10. “Normal Solomon – Muckrack Portfolio,” Journalism Portfolio, Muckrack, accessed October 7, 2024, https://muckrack.com/norman-solomon.
11. Jim Wood, “Norman Solomon,” Marin Magazine (blog), May 18, 2011, https://marinmagazine.com/people/norman-solomon/.
12. “Norman Solomon,” in Ballotpedia (Middleton, Wisconsin: Lucy Burns Institute), accessed October 7, 2024, https://ballotpedia.org/Norman_Solomon.
13. Institute for Public Accuracy, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990).