Non-profit

Media Matters for America

Website:

www.mediamatters.org/

Location:

WASHINGTON, DC

Tax ID:

47-0928008

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $18,794,929
Expenses: $15,895,193
Assets: $25,734,430

Type:

Media Criticism Organization

Formation:

2004

Founder:

David Brock

President:

Angelo Carusone

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Media Matters for America (MMfA) was established in 2004 by conservative-turned-liberal activist David Brock. MMfA was created as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, nonprofit organization. MMfA positions itself as a fact-checker, focusing on conservative media bias and inaccuracies. In practice, the organization frequently criticizes opinions of conservative commentators.

In November 2023, MMfA was sued by X, formerly known as Twitter, for alleged defamation after publishing a report claiming that advertisements on X were featured next to racist and antisemitic content. MMfA denied the allegations.

Founding

Media Matters for America was founded on May 3, 2004 by David Brock. In the early 1990s, Brock was a conservative investigative journalist. By the end of the decade, he had become a liberal activist. He created MMfA to confront the conservative journalism of which he was previously a part. 1

In founding MMfA, Brock received help and guidance from the Center for American Progress, which at the time was also recently formed by former officials from the Clinton White House. The site was intended to become part of a larger liberal media apparatus, aimed at combating conservative opinion-makers like radio host Rush Limbaugh. Brock stated he hoped MMfA could provide content for struggling new liberal talk show hosts, including future U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) and Janeane Garofalo. 2

MMfA explicitly references conservative media as its target in its mission statement. According to MMfA’s tax returns, the organization is: 3 “Dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” 4

MMfA has been established to identify occurrences of excessive bias in the American media, educate the public as to their existence, and work with members of the media to reduce them in order to ensure that the public receives news coverage and information that is not only accurate but free from domination by a particular world view. 5

MMfA was founded with about $2 million in donations from prominent liberal donors, such as Susie Tompkins Buell, Leo Hindery, and James Hormel. 6

Organizational Overview

Media Matters for America’s stated purpose is “comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” 7 It claims to conduct “in-depth media analysis,” but its website is equally filled with liberal calls to action for its users. 8

In 2016, after the defeat of then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) in the presidential election, MMfA refocused its primary efforts from challenging falsehoods perpetrated by Fox News to “exposing falsehoods circulated online” by right-of-center sources. 9

The MMfA website includes sections for its blog, videos, research, and Mythopedia. Mythopedia prompts users to “Search the Dictionary of Conservative Lies.” 10 When searching simple words or phrases like “tax” and “climate change,” a list of “lies” paired with “truths” is presented, with links to longer entries. Supposed lies include phrases like “Progressive taxation is class warfare”; supposed truths include “Higher tax rates on the rich are not punishment.” 11

In 2007, MMfA released a study on 1,377 U.S. newspapers and 201 syndicated political columnists regularly carried by those papers. It concluded that conservatives receive much more space in newspapers than do liberals. Reporter John Diaz debunked the study, citing methodological bias: many reporters were classified as “conservative” despite their varied and nuanced opinions. 12

Criticisms of Right-of-Center Media

Alignment of the Republican Party and Right-of-Center media

According to Media Matters for America senior fellow Matt Gertz, the Republican Party and right-wing media outlets have increasingly colluded since at least the mid-2000s. By the 2020s, right-of-center media was a “bedrock part of the institutional Republican Party.” This effort was allegedly led by former Fox News executive Roger Ailes during the presidency of Barack Obama, at which time the mainstream media was considered left-leaning. According to Gertz, this trend has caused the Republican Party to become more extreme as its elected officials have increasingly catered to right-wing media consumers drawn to more extreme commentary from the media outlets. 13

Critical Race Theory

MMfA has criticized right-of-center media for alleged “fearmongering” over the spread of critical race theory (CRT) in elementary and high schools. According to MMfA, CRT is an “academic framework” for understanding systemic racism in the United States that is typically taught in graduate school. MMfA claims that right-of-center media outlets have conflated CRT with all attempts to teach students about racism as a means to “bash any discussion of systemic racism and racial justice efforts” and spread falsehoods about prevalent anti-white sentiment in the American left. Over time, this will allegedly lead to better outcomes for Republican candidates in elections as white voters become more opposed to the Democratic Party. 14

Federal Election Commission Complaint

On March 3, 2023, MMfA filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) regarding right wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch allegedly sharing confidential information with former President Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign. MMfA alleges that Murdoch’s Fox Corporation shared campaign ads for President Joe Biden with President Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner, thereby violating regulations regarding Fox’s status as a news company. 15

COVID-19 Pandemic

On November 17, 2021, MMfA submitted testimony to the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis regarding “Combating Coronavirus Cons and the Monetization of Misinformation.” According to MMfA, “the right-wing media have been a pivotal force in pushing lies about COVID-19 and the vaccines do not work or are dangerous.” The testimony particularly singled out Fox News for having the largest impact, and the One America News Network for “[spreading] dangerous and bizarre conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and vaccines.” 16

Fox News Protest

In March 2019, MMfA led a protest in front of the Fox News headquarters in Manhattan while over one hundred advertising executives gathered inside for a meeting. MMfA hired box trucks displaying signs like “FOX NEWS IS BIGOTED” to circle the block throughout the day. 17

Tucker Carlson

In October 2018, MMfA published a timeline of then-Fox News pundit “Tucker Carlson’s descent into white supremacy.” According to MMfa, Carlson transitioned from “thinly veiled racism into full-throated white supremacy” over the course of 14 years. The timeline was updated after publishing through April 2023. 18

Testimony Against 21st Century Fox

In October 2017, MMfA sent testimony to the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority regarding an attempted purchase of Sky PLC (owners of Sky News) by right-of-center media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. MMfA argued that Fox should be blocked from the acquisition because the company suffered from “poor corporate governance” and failed to abide by standards set by the Communications Act of 2003 concerning “impartiality, accuracy, and the exclusion of offensive and harmful material.” Fox ultimately purchased Sky PLC, though with concessions for independent oversight of Sky News, and was soon after bought out by Disney. 19

Controversies

Twitter/X Lawsuit

In November 2023, Media Matters for America published a report claiming that X, the company formerly known as Twitter, placed advertisements for major brands next to “pro-Hitler, Holocaust denial, white nationalist, pro-violence, and neo-Nazi accounts” despite assurances from company CEO Linda Yaccarino that X algorithms prevented advertiser brands from showing up near unseemly content. 20

In response, X filed a defamation lawsuit against MMfA for allegedly manufacturing the results of the report. The report, along with the re-platforming of some racist and antisemitic users and perceptions that company owner Elon Musk expressed antisemitic views, caused numerous companies to stop advertising on X, including IBM, NBCUniversal, Comcast, Apple, Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, and Paramount Global. According to X, MMfA “manipulated algorithms governing the user experience on X to bypass safeguards and create images of X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts adjacent to racist, incendiary content, leaving the false impression that these pairings are anything but what they actually are: manufactured, inorganic and extraordinarily rare.” 21 22

According to X head of business operations Joe Benarroch, 23 “Media Matters created 3 accounts and followed 30 accounts… then they constantly refreshed the timeline of posts (13X the number of ads served to this user as opposed to the median.) 50 impressions served agains [sic] the content in the article, out of 5.5B served the whole day, points to the fact of how efficiently our model avoids content for advertisers.” 24

Independent journalist Michael Shellenberger unsuccessfully attempted to replicate the findings of MMfA’s report. 25

MMfA president Angelo Carusone responded: “This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence. Media Matters stands behind its report.” 26

Sexual Misconduct Allegation

In June 2022, senior writer Timothy Johnson announced that he was leaving MMfA after a decade and made a series of implications about misconduct at the company, including that editorial director Ben Dimiero had “covered up for a man who [sexually] preyed on our colleagues.” Hours later, MMfA president Angelo Carusone sent out an internal memo defending management, claiming that the incident occurred seven years ago, and the offender was quickly fired. Soon after Johnson’s resignation, MMfA sent a letter to Johnson threatening a lawsuit for breaking the legal terms of his resignation. 27

Jussie Smollet “Hate Crime” Hoax

When Jussie Smollett, an actor on the drama series Empire, orchestrated a fictional hate crime against himself on January 30th, 2019, MMfA defended Smollett’s story. Despite early indications that Smollett’s reported hate crime had inconsistencies, MMfA labeled the skepticism as a “right-wing smear” just one day after the event. MMfA also accused Twitter and YouTube of artificially promoting content that doubted Smollett’s story. MMfA’s article was later updated on February 21st after Smollett was arrested for filing a false police report. 28

Support for Clinton’s 2016 Campaign

On August 13, 2020, conservative nonprofit Patriots Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC) for not acting on complaints it had issued to the FEC in April against political operative David Brock and four of his organizations for illegally assisting Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign. 29 30 The organizations included Media Matters for America, American Bridge 21st Century PACAmerican Bridge 21st Century Foundation, and Correct the Record. 31 The complaint issued on April 8 alleged that the organizations had coordinated with the Clinton Campaign while violating FEC regulations, with the lawsuit coming after 120 days of inaction. The Patriots Foundation further explained that during the 2016 election cycle, Media Matters had acted as an “arm of the Hillary Clinton campaign.” 32

As The New Republic explained in a December 2016 report: “[Media Matters] 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.” 33 In a different passage, the report quoted a former staffer of Media Matters saying, “The closer we got to the 2016 election the less it became about actually debunking conservative misinformation and more it became about just defending Hillary Clinton from every blogger in their mother’s basement.” 34

There have been several other instances of the organization’s favorability towards Hilary Clinton as revealed by several employees’ noncompliance with their employer’s pro-Clinton agenda. In 2014, several employees were asked to critique Terry Gross’s “Fresh Air” interview on National Public Radio (NPR) in which she questioned Hilary Clinton on her delay in supporting same-sex marriage. 35 The staffers refused, as they believed the questions asked by Gross were fair. Following much internal dispute, Media Matters’ research director Jeremy Holden ended up having to write the hit piece himself. According to the New Republic, there are 1,468 posts tagged with “Hillary Clinton” on Media Matters’ site as opposed to just 26 post tagged “Bernie Sanders.” 36

Messages released by WikiLeaks showed that Clinton’s 2016 campaign also treated Media Matters as a campaign surrogate while coordinating with the group. The campaign allegedly wanted Media Matters to “muddy the waters” on certain issues Clinton might be vulnerable on by questioning the media’s coverage of how Republicans would handle the same issues and whether they would “do the bidding of their billionaire super-PAC donors and the special interests.” 37

Journalists at the Atlantic, a left-of-center media outlet, have referred to MMfA as part of David Brock’s “three-pronged empire” consisting of American Bridge, Correct the Record, and MMfA, that was designed to boost Clinton’s campaign. According to the Atlantic “the ferocity with which Media Matters has defended Clinton can verge on the absurd.” 38

Many of the staffers interviewed by The New Republic believed that the organization’s support for Clinton hurt MMfA’s credibility and was largely instituted by founder David Brock. 39

Funding

Although Media Matters for America spends much of its efforts attacking conservative and libertarian donors, MMfA does not clearly disclose its donors on its website. The following funders of MMfA have been identified using publicly available documents filed with U.S. Government agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor, as well as media reports.

Media Matters was founded with $2 million in funding from wealthy progressives funneled through the Tides Foundation with additional funding from MoveOn.org and the New Democrat Network. 40 The left-of-center donor group known as Democracy Alliance endorsed the group in 2004, resulting in a flood of donations. In 2010, George Soros gave the group $1 million. 41 MMfA has also received substantial funding from labor unions, most notably the National Education Association (NEA). 42

The following organizations have made major contributions to MMfA. Unless otherwise noted, the contribution was made in the donor’s 2014 tax or fiscal year. Contributors in italics are from donor-advised funds, a philanthropic vehicle that can be used to hide donors’ identities which has often been attacked by liberal groups as “dark money.” MMfA also receives substantial funding from community foundations.

  • Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston: $400,000
  • Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund: $500,000
  • Bohemian Foundation: $200,000
  • Community Foundation of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego: $200,000
  • National Education Association: $200,000
  • Marin Community Foundation: $150,000
  • Glaser Progress Foundation: $100,284
  • Joseph and Marie Field Foundation: $100,000
  • Orange County Community Foundation: $75,000
  • Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program: $68,200
  • Jewish Communal Fund: $62,000
  • New York Community Trust: $54,250
  • Rebecca and Nathan Milikowsky Family Foundation: $50,000
  • Small Change Foundation: $50,000
  • Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Family Foundation: $50,000
  • Fairfield County Community Foundation: $50,000
  • Phoebe Snow Foundation: $50,000

MMfA itself has made some contributions to other left-of-center groups. In 2014, it provided $930,000 in assistance to the Franklin Education Forum, a progressive media training group that is also part of the Brock network. The American Independent, a Brock-linked investigative outfit, received $150,000. 43

Independent journalist Andy Ngo has accused MMfA of taking “in huge donations to launder the writings of Antifa propagandists into the mainstream.” 44 MMfA has previously referred to Ngo as a “far-right grifter.” 45

According to the Washington Free Beacon, by January 2024 it obtained a confidential donor list for Media Matters that the organization accidentally released in a public filing to the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General in November 2023. Amongst the list of donors include Democratic party donor Deborah Simon ($4 million), the Tim Gill-founded Gill Foundation, Bain Capitol co-chairman Joshua Bekenstein and his wife Anita Bekenstein ($1.75 million), the Stephen Silberstein Foundation, and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (STBF). 46

Leadership

President and CEO

Angelo Carusone is the president and CEO of Media Matters for America, after taking over from Bradley Beychok in late 2016. Prior to his arrival at Media Matters, Carusone worked for the 2016 Democratic National Convention committee. Beychok remains with the Brock network, serving as David Brock’s chief of staff and as an advisor to MMfA. 47

Founder

MMfA founder David Brock previously served as chair of the MMfA board until announcing through Twitter November 16, 2022 that he would be stepping down as Chair of the Board for MMfA as well as from MMfa Action Network, and from American Bridge 21st Century. 48 Other prominent MMfA-affiliated activists and commentators include controversial senior fellow Eric Boehlert, who has received criticism for factual errors in his reporting. 49

Board Members

As of 2022, the following individuals are members of the MMfA’s Board of Directors: 50

  • Angelo Carusone, Chair
  • Will Lippincott, Secretary
  • Tom Castro, Treasurer
  • Cecile Richards
  • Karen White
  • Oliver Willis
  • Michael Pollack
  • Bonnie Turner
  • Tom Perez
  • Pilar Martinez

Other Staff

Talia Lavin was a researcher for MMfA. She lists her research goal as identifying “far-right extremism.” Lavin has also been a freelance writer for left-of-center publications such as the Washington Post and Lilith magazine. 51 Lavin previously worked at the New Yorker, where she resigned in June 2018 after falsely labeling an ICE agent’s U.S. Marine tattoo a neo Nazi symbol. 52 Lavin has also denounced conservative criticism of left-wing billionaire and donor George Soros as an anti-Semitic “dog-whistle.” 53 According to her LinkedIn, Lavin left MMfA in 2019. 54

Pilar Martinez is the chief financial officer of MMfA, has worked for the organization since 2008, and has worked for left-wing nonprofits for over 26 years. While working for MMfA, at various times, he concurrently worked for The American Independent Foundation, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), UltraViolet, American Bridge 21st Century, Correct the Record, and the Franklin Education Forum. Earlier, Martinez worked at the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), the National Park Foundation, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. 55

Cynthia Padera is the chief operating officer of MMfA. She previously worked at the United Nations Foundation and the League of Women Voters of the United States. 56

Associations

Media Matters Action Network is the 501(c)(4) arm of Media Matters for America. 57

In 2014, employees at MMfA voted to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Management initially opposed the unionization, to the dismay of employees. MMfA was also criticized for refusing to agree to a card check organization process, despite previously advocating that Congress pass the Employee Free Choice Act, a federal proposal which would change the union organization procedure at most non-government work sites from a secret-ballot vote to a public “card check” of workers. 58

References

  1. Rutenberg, Jim. “New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right.” The New York Times. May 02, 2004. Accessed October 24, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/03/us/new-internet-site-turns-critical-eyes-and-ears-to-the-right.html.
  2. Rutenberg, Jim. “New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right.” The New York Times. May 02, 2004. Accessed October 24, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/03/us/new-internet-site-turns-critical-eyes-and-ears-to-the-right.html.
  3. “Media Matters for America Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/470928008/202233199349323883/full.
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  14. Geonzon, Jasmine; Davidson, Madeleine. “By the numbers: A year of conservative media fearmongering over “critical race theory”.” Media Matters for America. December 28, 2021. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.mediamatters.org/critical-race-theory/numbers-year-conservative-media-fearmongering-over-critical-race-theory.
  15. “Media Matters filed a complaint with the FEC over Rupert Murdoch sharing confidential information with Jared Kushner.” Media Matters for America. March 3, 2023. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/media-matters-filed-complaint-fec-over-rupert-murdoch-sharing-confidential-information.
  16. “Statement for the Record of Media Matters for America U.S. House Oversight and Reform Selection Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.” U.S. Congress.gov. November 17, 2021. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.congress.gov/117/meeting/house/114254/documents/HHRG-117-VC00-20211117-SD007.pdf.
  17. McCormick, Andrew. “Media Matters protests as Fox News makes pitch to advertisers.” Columbia Journalism Review. March 13, 2019. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.cjr.org/analysis/fox-news-protest-media-matters.php.
  18. Peltz, Madeline. “Tucker Carlson’s descent into white supremacy: a timeline.” Media Matters for America. October 28, 2018. Updated April 7, 2023. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carlson/tucker-carlsons-descent-white-supremacy-timeline.
  19. “Latest evidence that 21st Century Fox and the Murdochs pose a threat to the British media landscape.” U.K. Gov. October 24, 2017. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a008470e5274a6c8cb642ec/media-matters-resp-to-fox-sky-issues-statement.pdf.
  20. Hananoki, Eric. “As Musk endorses antisemitic conspiracy theory, X has been placing ads for Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity next to pro-Nazi content.” Media Matters for America. November 16, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle.
  21. “Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, sues Media Matters as advertisers flee over report of ads appearing next to neo-Nazi posts.” CBS News. November 20, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-x-twitter-sues-media-matters-ads-hate-groups/.
  22. Hananoki, Eric. “As Musk endorses antisemitic conspiracy theory, X has been placing ads for Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity next to pro-Nazi content.” Media Matters for America. November 16, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle.
  23. Chapman, Tom. “Who is newly-appointed Twitter executive Joe Benarroch?” Business Chief. June 5, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://businesschief.com/technology-and-ai/who-is-new-twitter-executive-joe-benarroch.
  24. “Jack Poso.” Twitter. November 19, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1726268467270041756.
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  26. “Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, sues Media Matters as advertisers flee over report of ads appearing next to neo-Nazi posts.” CBS News. November 20, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-x-twitter-sues-media-matters-ads-hate-groups/.
  27. Baragona, Justin. “Media Matters Hits Ex-Staffer With Lawsuit Threat Over Vague Claims.” The Daily Beast. June 7, 2022. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.thedailybeast.com/media-matters-hits-ex-staffer-with-lawsuit-threat-over-vague-claims.
  28. Kaplan, Alex. “Twitter Search Suggestions Promoted Right-wing Smear That Attack against Jussie Smollett Was a Hoax.” Media Matters for America. January 30, 2019. Accessed March 06, 2019. https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2019/01/30/Twitter-search-suggestions-promoted-right-wing-smear-that-attack-against-Jussie-Smollett-w/222700.
  29. Hemingway, Mark. “Did Media Matters shill so hard for Hillary that it broke the law.” The Federalist. August 17, 2020. https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/17/did-media-matters-shill-so-hard-for-hillary-that-it-broke-the-law/.
  30. Wulfsohn, Joseph A. “FEC sued over inaction on claim against Clinton ally David Brock’s organizations.” Fox News. August 15, 2020. https://www.foxnews.com/media/fec-sued-david-brock-media-matters-complaint.
  31. Kerr, Andrew. “Conservative Group Sues FEC For Failing To Act On Allegations Against Media Matters.” The Daily Caller. August 14, 2020. https://dailycaller.com/2020/08/14/conservative-group-fec-lawsuit-media-matters-patriots-foundation-david-brock/.
  32. Hemingway, Mark. “Did Media Matters shill so hard for Hillary that it broke the law.” The Federalist. August 17, 2020. https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/17/did-media-matters-shill-so-hard-for-hillary-that-it-broke-the-law/
  33. Chang, Clio and Alex Shephard. “What Happens to Media Matters in a Post-Hillary World?” The New Republic. December 19, 2016. https://newrepublic.com/article/139385/happens-media-matters-post-hillary-world.
  34. Chang, Clio and Alex Shephard. “What Happens to Media Matters in a Post-Hillary World?” The New Republic. December 19, 2016. https://newrepublic.com/article/139385/happens-media-matters-post-hillary-world.
  35. Hemingway, Mark. “Did Media Matters shill so hard for Hillary that it broke the law.” The Federalist. August 17, 2020. https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/17/did-media-matters-shill-so-hard-for-hillary-that-it-broke-the-law/.
  36. Hemingway, Mark. “Did Media Matters shill so hard for Hillary that it broke the law.” The Federalist. August 17, 2020. https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/17/did-media-matters-shill-so-hard-for-hillary-that-it-broke-the-law/.
  37.  Hemingway, Mark. “Did Media Matters shill so hard for Hillary that it broke the law.” The Federalist. August 17, 2020. https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/17/did-media-matters-shill-so-hard-for-hillary-that-it-broke-the-law/.
  38. Emma Roller, National Journal. “Media Matters and the Battle for the Hillary Clinton Narrative.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, March 27, 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/media-matters-and-the-battle-for-the-hillary-clinton-narrative/455403/.
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  41. Shear, Michael D. “Soros Donates $1 Million to Media Matters.” The New York Times. October 20, 2010. Accessed October 24, 2017. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/soros-donates-1-million-to-media-matters/.
  42. Center for Union Facts. “National Education Association | Receipts for: Media Matters.” UnionFacts.com. Accessed October 24, 2017. https://www.unionfacts.com/payeeDetail/National_Education_Association/1685215.
  43. “Media Matters for America Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/470928008/201543209349303754/full.
  44. “Andy Ngo.” Twitter. November 20, 2023. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1726755210054279234?s=19.
  45. Hoard, Charis; McCabe, Audrey; Seavey, Ruby. “Elon Musk continues to cater to far-right Twitter accounts promoting bigotry, extremism, and misinformation.” Media Matters for America. December 15, 2022. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/elon-musk-continues-cater-far-right-twitter-accounts-promoting-bigotry-extremism-and.
  46. Kerr, Andrew. “Democratic Megadonors Bankroll Media Matters, Leaked Donor List Shows.” The Washington Free Beacon, January 4, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/democrats/democratic-megadonors-bankroll-media-matters-leaked-donor-list-shows/
  47. Grinapol, Corinne. “Media Matters Names Angelo Carusone its New President.” Adweek. December 06, 2016. Accessed October 24, 2017. http://www.adweek.com/digital/media-matters-names-angelo-carusone-its-new-president/.
  48. Ross, Chuck (@ChuckRossDC). “David Brock stepping down from all of his dirtbag organizations.” Twitter, November 16, 2022. https://twitter.com/ChuckRossDC/status/1593045169200562177?s=20&t=N0O48y14HIiudsVUc-9naA.
  49. E.g., https://capitalresearch.org/2013/04/media-matterss-eric-boehlert-caught-in-a-lie-falsely-accuses-weekly-standard-of-ignoring-gosnell-abortion-trial/.
  50. “Board of Directors.” Media Matters for America, Accessed November 22, 2022. https://www.mediamatters.org/about-us/board-directors.
  51. “Talia Lavin.” Linkedin. Accessed October 31, 2018. https://www.linkedin.com/in/talialavin.
  52. Lavin, Talia B. “Some Personal News.” Twitter. July 20, 2018. Accessed October 29, 2018. https://twitter.com/chick_in_kiev/status/1020293791746584576?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1020293791746584576&ref_url=https://www.thewrap.com/media-matters-ex-new-yorker-fact-checker-talia-lavin-ice-agent-false-nazi-tattoo/.
  53. Lavin, Talia. “Conspiracy Theories about Soros Aren’t Just False. They’re Anti-Semitic.” The Washington Post. October 24, 2018. Accessed October 31, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/10/24/conspiracy-theories-about-soros-arent-just-false-theyre-anti-semitic/?utm_term=.d96c26834e1f.
  54. “Talia Lavin – Freelance Writer – Self-Employed | Linkedin.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 3, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/talialavin/en.
  55. “Leadership.” Media Matters for America. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.mediamatters.org/about-us/leadership.
  56. “Leadership.” Media Matters for America. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.mediamatters.org/about-us/leadership.
  57. “Media Matters for America.” Ballotpedia. Accessed December 7, 2023. https://ballotpedia.org/Media_Matters_for_America.
  58. Jamieson, Dave. “Media Matters Employees Feel ‘Betrayed’ By Management’s Opposition To Their Union.” The Huffington Post. April 28, 2014. Accessed October 24, 2017. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/28/media-matters-employees-union_n_5229343.html.

Directors, Employees & Supporters

  1. Angelo Carusone
    Officer/Board Member
  2. Eric Boehlert
    Former Fellow
  3. Rachel Pritzker
    Former Board Member
  4. Talia Lavin
    Researcher
  5. Karl Frisch
    Former Communications Director
  6. Ezra Reese
    Consultant
  7. Max Blumenthal
    Former Writer
  8. Sidney Blumenthal
    Former Consultant
  9. Gail Furman
    Founding Donor

Donor Organizations

  1. AG Foundation (Non-profit)
  2. American Independent Institute (Non-profit)
  3. Arca Foundation (Non-profit)
  4. Bauman Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  5. Bohemian Foundation (Non-profit)
  6. Center for American Progress (CAP) (Non-profit)
  7. Democracy Alliance (DA) (Other Group)
  8. Douglas H. Phelps Foundation (Non-profit)
  9. Dwoskin Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  10. Dyson Foundation (Non-profit)
  11. Energy Foundation (Non-profit)
  12. Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund (Non-profit)
  13. Ford Foundation (Non-profit)
  14. Foundation to Promote Open Society (FPOS) (Non-profit)
  15. Franklin Education Forum (Non-profit)
  16. Fund for a Safer Future (Non-profit)
  17. Gill Foundation (Non-profit)
  18. Glaser Progress Foundation (RealNetworks) (Non-profit)
  19. Global Village Charitable Trust (Non-profit)
  20. H. Van Ameringen Foundation (Non-profit)
  21. ImpactAssets Inc. (Non-profit)
  22. JEHT Foundation (Non-profit)
  23. Kendeda Fund (Non-profit)
  24. Lear Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  25. Lebowitz-Aberly Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  26. Leland Fikes Foundation (Non-profit)
  27. Leonard & Sophie Davis Fund (Non-profit)
  28. Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund (Non-profit)
  29. Mai Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  30. Marisla Foundation (Non-profit)
  31. Miner Anderson Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  32. Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation (Non-profit)
  33. National Education Association (NEA) (Labor Union)
  34. NEO Philanthropy (Non-profit)
  35. New Venture Fund (NVF) (Non-profit)
  36. Nick and Leslie Hanauer Foundation (Non-profit)
  37. Orr Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  38. Ploughshares Fund (Non-profit)
  39. Proteus Fund (Non-profit)
  40. Rockefeller Brothers Fund (Non-profit)
  41. San Francisco Foundation (Non-profit)
  42. Sandler Foundation (Non-profit)
  43. Schmidt Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  44. Schumann Media Center (Non-profit)
  45. Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) (Non-profit)
  46. Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation (Non-profit)
  47. Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (STBF) (Non-profit)
  48. Tides Foundation (Non-profit)
  See an error? Let us know!

Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: May 1, 2004

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2021 Dec Form 990 $18,794,929 $15,895,193 $25,734,430 $14,727,778 N $18,735,543 $0 $51,572 $1,648,929
    2020 Dec Form 990 $18,033,820 $14,064,585 $23,181,800 $15,258,052 N $17,976,980 $0 $49,403 $1,232,648
    2019 Dec Form 990 $14,164,151 $13,594,863 $6,399,438 $2,669,289 N $14,104,653 $0 $61,205 $1,081,694 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $14,923,403 $13,151,307 $5,386,698 $2,455,919 Y $14,864,159 $0 $60,692 $848,116 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $11,527,337 $12,463,082 $4,583,423 $3,297,405 N $11,447,749 $0 $80,694 $819,584 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $10,691,752 $10,867,830 $4,346,947 $2,245,173 N $10,603,401 $0 $85,699 $890,086 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $9,215,064 $10,102,807 $4,982,197 $2,725,321 N $9,124,676 $0 $77,724 $839,145 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $10,099,530 $10,702,482 $6,249,848 $3,059,916 N $10,021,188 $0 $86,165 $774,302 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $12,549,513 $11,201,222 $7,008,984 $3,232,735 N $12,501,819 $0 $68,467 $893,845 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $9,628,580 $10,432,310 $5,345,764 $2,860,551 N $9,598,333 $0 $42,827 $676,837 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $8,303,358 $10,476,854 $6,303,552 $3,058,523 N $8,253,537 $37,891 $0 $752,705 PDF
    2010 Dec Form 990 $13,237,875 $10,605,629 $8,955,120 $3,533,340 N $13,206,417 $0 $37,467 $938,850 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Media Matters for America

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