TechDigits

Tech news
Monday, Jun 05, 2023

Soros, Clinton and Obama staffers and Europe govs in anti-Musk letter

Soros, Clinton and Obama staffers and Europe govs in anti-Musk letter

Elon Musk on Tuesday demanded more information about the funding of 26 groups who signed a letter to Twitter advertisers, warning that Musk threatens to turn Twitter into a 'cesspool'.

Some of the most high-profile liberal figures have joined together to encourage advertisers to boycott Twitter if Elon Musk brings in his promised policy of unfettered 'free speech.'

Twenty six NGOs and advocacy groups signed a letter expressing concern about the world's richest man's plan.

Musk himself responded to the letter asking who funded them: the answer being an assortment of 'dark money groups' like George Soros's Open Society Foundation; NGOs founded by former Clinton and Obama administration staffers; wealthy Democrat donors and their family foundations; labor unions; and the governments of European nations.

'Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter will further toxify our information ecosystem and be a direct threat to public safety, especially among those already most vulnerable and marginalized,' they wrote.

They warned that advertising on Twitter would see their company 'risks association with a platform amplifying hate, extremism, health misinformation, and conspiracy theorists.'

The authors continued: 'Under Musk's management, Twitter risks becoming a cesspool of misinformation, with your brand attached, polluting our information ecosystem in a time where trust in institutions and news media is already at an all-time low.

'Your ad dollars can either fund Musk's vanity project or hold him to account. We call on you to demand Musk uphold these basic standards of community trust and safety, and to pull your advertising spending from Twitter if they are not.'

Elon Musk, pictured on Monday night at the Met Gala with his mother Maye, on Tuesday questioned who was funding the groups which signed a letter criticizing him





Musk, in response to the letter, tweeted: 'Who funds these organizations that want to control your access to information? Let's investigate …'

Piqued by the critique, he added: 'Sunlight is the best disinfectant.'

The letter signed by the 26 groups was sent on headed paper bearing the logos of Accountable Tech, Media Matters for America, and Ultraviolet.

ACCOUNTABLE TECH - NICOLE GILL, CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR


Accountable Tech is a Washington DC-based group led by Nicole Gill, a political campaigner and founder of the 2017 Tax March, and Jesse Lehrich, a former foreign policy spokesman for Hillary Clinton's campaign and the nephew of David Axelrod, former senior adviser to Barack Obama.

'Social media giants are eroding our consensus reality and pushing democracy to the brink,' they state on their website.

'Accountable Tech is fighting back.'

Founded in May 2020, the group is a 501(c)(4), which means it does not have to disclose its donor list, and it does not say on the website who funds it.


MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA - DAVID BROCK, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN


Media Matters for America was begun in May 2004 by David Brock - a former conservative journalist who turned liberal, and in 2017 was described by Politico as the 'Democrats' attack dog'.

'The Clinton enforcer, who raised tens of millions of dollars and created a far-reaching web of outside groups to push her presidential candidacy, is now training his sights on Trump,' they wrote at the time.

'Brock is rallying Democratic megadonors behind his cause and while he can be controversial at times, few bet against his efforts. His tentacles are far-reaching, including his media monitoring nonprofit Media Matters and the opposition research super PAC American Bridge.'

Media Matters for America says it is 'dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.'



David Brock, founder of Media Matters for America, was described by Politico as 'Democrats' attack dog' (left) and Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech. Both groups signed the letter warning advertisers against continuing to advertise on Twitter


According to Influence Watch, the group was founded with about $2 million in donations from prominent liberal donors, such as Susie Tompkins Buell, the 78-year-old co-founder of clothing brands Esprit and The North Face; Leo Hindery, 74, a private equity investor specializing in media; and James Hormel, who died in August aged 88.

Hormel was heir to a meatpacking fortune, and the first openly gay man to represent the United States as an ambassador - to Luxembourg, from 1997. He also co-founded in 1981 the Human Rights Campaign - the nation's preeminent gay rights group.

Media Matters is funded by a coalition of donors, including the National Education Association - America's largest union, representing teachers and other school staff - and several Jewish groups, such as the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and Community Foundation of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego.

ULTRAVIOLET - NITA CHAUDHARY, CO-FOUNDER, AND SHAUNNA THOMAS, CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR


UltraViolet is the newest of the trio, founded in 2012.

'UltraViolet is a powerful and rapidly growing community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture,' they state on their website.

'We founded UltraViolet on the principle that with a combination of organizing, technology, creative campaigning, and people power, we can win. Ultraviolet leads creative, breakthrough campaigns that have won victories from politics to culture.'

The group is also backed by several unions - among them the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), and the American Federation of Teachers.

Musk is famously anti-union, and has been excluded from White House electric vehicle manufacturing events due to the fact that Tesla's workforce is not unionized.

UltraViolet is backed by numerous family foundations, including that founded by Warren Buffet's son Peter, NoVo Foundation.

NoVo works to help marginalized and oppressed groups in society.

It is also supported by one of the many Pritzker family's foundations, Libra.

The Chicago-based billionaires are members of one of America's richest families who made their money largely through the Hyatt hotel chain.

Nicholas Pritzker, 76, and his wife Susan founded the Libra Foundation in 2002, and the organization now 'supports frontline organizations building a world where communities of color thrive.'

Hillary Clinton is pictured in conversation with Susie Tompkins Buell in March 2017. Tompkins Buell's foundation donates to multiple progressive causes, with a focus on women's rights and the environment


FAIR VOTE UK - KYLE TAYLOR, FOUNDER


Not all of the 26 groups that signed the letter are U.S. based.

Fair Vote UK, a British group that works to 'tackle the issue of data misuse, voter manipulation and lack of transparency in elections', is among the signatories.

A small-scale group, they declare all donations over £500 ($624), and only confirm five such donations on their site.


CENTER FOR COUNTERING DIGITAL HATE - IMRAN AHMED, FOUNDER AND CEO


Another British-based signatory was the Center for Countering Digital Hate, led by a former advisor to senior figures in the Labour Party, Imran Ahmed.

The group has expanded to have an office in Washington DC, but their work is largely British.

'The Center is best known for working with Rachel Riley to remove controversial far-right commentator Katie Hopkins from Twitter and conspiracy theorist David Icke from Facebook and Youtube,' according to Influence Watch.



George Soros, the founder and chair of Open Society Foundation, is pictured in June 2004. Soros, now 91, heads a foundation that since 1979 has donated more the $12 billion to progressive causes

Soros is pictured in September 2006 in Washington DC


ACCESS NOW - BRETT SOLOMON, CAMERAN ASHRAF, SINA RABBANI AND KIM PHAM, CO-FOUNDERS


European governments are strongly involved in backing another of the signatories - Access Now.

Begun during the 2009 Iranian election, as an activist group to organize and protest election fraud and report on human rights abuses, the group is now global with offices worldwide.

Their largest donor, according to their latest report, is the Swedish government's development agency, Sida, followed by Soros' Open Society Foundations.

The governments of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands have contributed large amounts, as well as Canada's government.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
Close
0:00
0:00
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh slams New York Times' pro-government stance and treatment of sources
Fox News Settles their case with Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787.5 MILLION
The G-7 aims to make global crypto regulations tougher
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
A brief banking situation report
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
Charlie Munger, calls for a ban on cryptocurrencies in the US, following China's lead
First generation unopened iPhone set to fetch more than $50,000 at auction.
Almost 30% of professionals say they've tried ChatGPT at work
Interpol seeks woman who ran elaborate exam cheating scam in Singapore
What is ChatGPT?
Tesla reported record profits and record revenues for 2022
Microsoft is finalising plans to become the latest technology giant to reduce its workforce during a global economic slowdown
Tesla slashes prices globally by as much as 20 percent
After Failing To Pay Office Rent, Twitter May Sell User Names
FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
TikTok CEO Plans to Meet European Union Regulators
U.S. Moves to Seize Robinhood Shares, Silvergate Accounts Tied to FTX
Coinbase to Pay $100 Million in Settlement With New York Regulator
×