Front Groups

Who Is Trying to Destroy the Humane Society?

Richard Schiffman | Posted 03.28.2012

Read More: Charity Organizations, Humane Society of the United States, Oscars, Animal Rights, Front Groups, Animal Shelter, Pet Safety, Humane Society Ad, Hsus, Human Society Controversy, Humane Society Commercial, Mcdonalds, Rick Berman, Media News
Richard Schiffman

Just as we require political ads to disclose the sources of their funding, we should make sure that these faceless front groups come out of the shadows and tell us up front -- on the ads themselves -- who exactly is paying for them.

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Gas Industry Front Group Called Out By RFK Jr. Keeps Spinning Truth

Brendan DeMelle | Posted 12.24.2011

Read More: Ian Urbina, Mortgages, Energy in Depth, Fracking, Front Groups, Desmogblog, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., New York Times, Oil and Gas Leasing, Green News
Brendan DeMelle

The oil and gas industry has a long history of resisting public accountability and protective standards, and generally avoiding tough questions about its practices and attacking its critics.

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Ads Infinitum: Countering the Citizens United Plague

Ellis Weiner | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ads, Political Ads, Front Groups, Citizens United, Advertising, Politics News
Ellis Weiner

Following the Citizens United decision, the funding for negative political ads can more easily be disguised by anodyne-sounding organizational names. The implications of this plague are grim.

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Transocean Offshore Drilling Has Its own 'Conservation Organization'

Morgan Goodwin | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bp, Gulf Coast, Oil Spill, General, Front Groups, Drilling Disaster, Green, Quenton Dokken, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico Foundation, US, Transocean, Offshore Drilling, Green News
Morgan Goodwin

Unfortunately, the deep connections between the Gulf of Mexico Foundation and Transocean Limited, (owners of the Deepwater Horizon rig) were omitted by the New York Times this week.

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Richard Berman: The High Life and Low Road

Wayne Pacelle | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Humane Society of the United States, Front Groups, Lobbying, Lobbyists, Commission on Public Integrity, Ethics, Richard Berman, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, American Beverage Institute, New York, Politics News
Wayne Pacelle

Today, The Humane Society of the United States joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving in filing a complaint with the ethics commission in New York again...

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Verizon and AT&T's Most Annoying Lobbyists

Marvin Ammori | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Andrew Keen, Front Groups, Copyright, Telecoms, Network Neutrality, Media News
Marvin Ammori

These front groups exist to distract from real issues, to make the industry look reasonable, and to make anyone responding to them look like the "other" extreme, rather than the sensible, consumer-focused policy advocate.

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PG&E Quits U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Nike Fed Up Too

Brendan DeMelle | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Climate Legislation, Front Groups, Nike, PG&E Corp, US Chamber of Commerce, Accce, Green News
Brendan DeMelle

Bravo to Pacific Gas & Electric for taking a stand against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's head-in-the-sand approach to climate change threats.

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Consumerist/Ctr for Media & Democracy Protect the US Against Front Groups

Craig Newmark | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Health Care Reform, Swiftboating, Front Groups, Consumer Reports, Consumerist, Astroturf, Politics News
Craig Newmark

"Front groups," sometimes called "swiftboaters," are people paid by shady politicians or corporate executives to deceive citizens.

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Big Oil Astroturf Rally in Houston More Company Picnic Than Grassroots Campaign

Andy Wilson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Cap and Trade, Public Citizen, Api, #FrontGroupFAIL, Texas, Global Warming, Crap and Trade, Big Oil, Cap and Tax, Energy Citizens, Front Groups, Citizen Sarah, Climate Change, Aces, Waxman-Markey, Astroturf, Green News
Andy Wilson

Yesterday the Public Citizen Texas team drove down to Houston to crash the American Petroleum Institute's Energy Citizen event. Billed as a "grassroots" rally against the cap-and-trade bill currently before Congress, this event was nothing more than a company picnic.

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Townhall Mobs -- Brought to You by Big Oil and Dirty Coal

Josh Dorner | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Dick Armey, Dirty Coal, Clean Coal, Freedomworks, Exxon Mobil, Accce, Tea Parties, Coal, Hawthorn Group, Harry Reid, American Solutions for Winning the Future, Sierra Club, Front Groups, Americans for Prosperity, Big Oil, Bonner and Associates, Rachel Maddow, Exxon, Koch Industries, Paul Kurgman, Townhall Mobs, Newt Gingrich, Health Care, Astroturf, Green News
Josh Dorner

There's considerable evidence that these astroturf corporate lobbying operations are also trying to derail clean energy jobs legislation.

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Republican Front Group Skirts Election Law: Attacked Wellstone, Attacking Shaheen

Mandy Grunwald | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Sununu Shaheen, Front Groups, Jeanne Shaheen, AJS, Attack Ads, Paul Wellstone, Republicans, Video, Politics News
Mandy Grunwald

The Shaheen-Sununu rematch is one of the most important in the country. It's the Democrats' best chance of knocking off an incumbent -- but the AJS is up to its old tricks.

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