{"id":260607,"date":"2023-06-04T13:48:04","date_gmt":"2023-06-04T11:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=260607"},"modified":"2023-06-04T13:48:07","modified_gmt":"2023-06-04T11:48:07","slug":"the-deep-pocketed-donors-buying-media-to-attack-american-energy-have-troubling-ties-to-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=260607","title":{"rendered":"The deep-pocketed donors buying media to attack American energy have troubling ties to Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From\u00a0CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Daniel Turner<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

See CFACT\u2019s post showing past Russian Green propaganda<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The destructive leak of US intelligence documents once again highlights the extent Russia is placing informational warfare front and center in its approach to conflicts of the 21st<\/sup> century. And with questions continuing to circulate about financial ties between Russian interests and many radical green organizations in the US, it\u2019s worth scrutinizing how these groups are adapting their tactics to influence media coverage in an age of unaffordable gas prices and frustration with President Biden\u2019s failed energy policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radical green groups are scooping up reporters to become full-time propagandists for their cause, using their connections and credentials to legitimize false attacks and undermine American energy production. The Associated Press announced<\/a> a \u201cdonation\u201d to fund the salaries of 20 journalists who would push climate change stories.  As many media organizations are forced to shed staff, they are cleverly filling the void with misinformation that\u2019s being presented as unbiased journalism in mainstream outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the example of the group Floodlight, which advertises<\/a> itself as a \u201cnonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action\u201d and employs a sizable team of \u201cjournalists.\u201d Despite openly touting a biased and one-sided agenda, its work attacking American energy companies is published as news articles \u2014 not opinion \u2014 in publications like The Guardian<\/em>, The Texas Tribune<\/em>, NPR, and the Los Angeles Times<\/em>. The disclosed donors all share Floodlight\u2019s radical mission<\/a> of \u201cstopping oil and gas at the source\u201d across the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deeper you dig into Floodlight\u2019s funding, the more troubling patterns emerge. In recent years, filings<\/a> with Bermuda\u2019s registrar of companies revealed that Klein Ltd, a company \u201crun by executives with deep ties to Russian oil interests and offshore money laundering schemes involving members of President Vladimir Putin\u2019s inner circle,\u201d funneled $23 million to the Sea Change Foundation. At the time, the massive gift to this radical green group that provides grants to \u201cnonprofit organizations focused on climate change\u201d was the company\u2019s \u201conly publicly documented\u201d activity. This bombshell revelation has been the subject of numerous calls<\/a> for investigation by leading members of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t require much investigation to reveal Floodlight\u2019s close ties to the Sea Change Foundation. One of Floodlight\u2019s most significant donors, the Tides Foundation, has received<\/a> at least $4 million from the Sea Change foundation. Another major supporter of Floodlight, the Heising-Simons Foundation, is run by Liz Simon \u2014 the sister<\/a> of Nathaniel Simons<\/a> who founded and runs the Sea Change foundation. The Sea Change foundation has also contributed an eye-popping $125 million<\/a> to the Energy Foundation<\/a>, which in turn has given at least $8 million to Floodlight donors. Given these established ties, Floodlight\u2019s repeated<\/a> attacks<\/a> on American LNG companies that are posed to replace Russian supply in Europe will inevitably raise eyebrows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian misinformation campaigns targeting energy producers in Western countries are nothing new. In 2016, the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies published a report<\/a> detailing how the Russian government funneled \u201c\u20ac82 million in NGOs whose job is to persuade EU governments to stop shale gas exploration,\u201d through funding that was \u201ccomplex and hidden from the public eye. Leaked emails<\/a> from 2014 have revealed that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton believed Russia was funding \u201cphony environmental groups\u201d in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia has a long history of propagandizing media coverage in foreign countries. Most famously, Russia funded Russia Today \u2014 a state news channel that operates across the globe to spread their propaganda. With Russia Today now being taken off<\/a> the airwaves in many countries, including the US, it stands to reason that Russia would adapt to more covert tactics to spread the message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the war in Ukraine grinds on and Russia cozies up to China, the tactics of the Kremlin are more than just interesting fodder for investigators: they are an urgent matter of national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not illegal to take foreign money. It is, however, illegal to hide it from the American people and mask journalism or advocacy as mere differences in domestic policy.  Since 1938 groups taking foreign money<\/a> to advance another nation\u2019s agenda have had to register as foreign agents. It\u2019s time for the Congress to call hearings on these type groups and ask the simple question: whose side are you on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American people deserve to know whether our media coverage is being unduly influenced by adversaries who seek to weaken us. It\u2019s time we demand Congress and even the Department of Justice slap the label of \u201cforeign agent\u201d on groups that use our sacred First Amendment rights to push the agenda of another country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article originally appeared at Real Clear Energy<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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