AP’s Court and Climate Coverage Funded by Left-Wing Foundations

Billed as purveyor of ‘unbiased news,’ wire service strikes lucrative sponsorship ⁣agreements with progressive charities

The Associated Press, the country’s top wire service, ‌is now bankrolled in ​part by millions of dollars from left-wing‌ foundations, including one founded by “1619‌ Project” author Nikole Hannah-Jones.

The news ⁢organization last‌ year announced a series of “partnerships” to subsidize reporters covering climate change, race, and democracy. A review of the donor roster shows that the vast majority fund left-wing ⁣political causes, while none are supporters⁤ of conservative ⁢initiatives.

The Ida B. Wells Society,​ founded by ​”1619 Project” ‍lightning⁣ rod Hannah-Jones, has teamed up with filmmaker Steven ‍Spielberg’s Hearthland Foundation, for example, to⁢ foster “more⁤ inclusive storytelling“‌ at⁣ the Associated Press.

In some ways, it was a natural partnership: The AP’s global ‍investigations editor, Ron Nixon, serves on the Ida B. Wells Society’s board⁤ of‌ directors. In others,⁣ it may prove more problematic, given that Hannah-Jones’s⁤ own reporting has been⁤ disputed​ by historians, who have ‍ argued—among other things—that her account of the motivations of the American revolutionaries is factually inaccurate.

The funding, much of it from these sorts of overly political actors,⁤ will⁣ make it more challenging ⁣for the Associated Press to swat away accusations of political bias. In one high-profile example,⁣ critics blasted the organization for revising its style guide to instruct reporters to⁢ avoid the use of terms like “the French,” which the AP indicated was “dehumanizing.”

AllSides, a group that tracks media bias across the industry, last year changed its rating for the AP from “center” to “leans left,” citing what it said was an increase in “word choice bias” ⁤and “bias by omission of views” in its coverage. AllSides says it closely⁣ monitors the Associated ⁣Press’s content because the⁣ AP’s content ‌is “broad and far-reaching.”

The Associated Press is also‍ taking nonprofit money to fund coverage of race and climate. The organization’s ⁢”democracy journalism initiative,”‍ a division whose reporters cover “the intersection​ of race and ⁤voting,” is bankrolled by‌ nonprofits ‍such ⁣as the Jonathan⁢ Logan Family‌ Foundation. That organization also funds Stacey Abrams’s New Georgia Project and the left-wing activist group Take Back ⁣the Court, ‌which advocates for expanding the Supreme Court.

A recent AP​ article ‍on the topic asserts ⁢that the Supreme Court in a 2013 landmark‌ decision ⁢”tossed out the heart” of the Voting ⁣Rights Act, when in reality the Court ruled that nine southern states⁣ would no ⁣longer​ have to “pre-clear” ⁤election law changes with the federal government. The AP lamented in another ⁢story that “far-right conservatives” in Tennessee were‍ elected to city council seats. A February news⁤ report said ‌ that “GOP election‍ tactics” intentionally disenfranchised black voters in⁢ Wisconsin.

Though‍ the Associated Press is funded largely by subscriptions from the ⁢thousands ⁢of news ‌organizations that pay‍ to license⁢ its content, its ⁢donors shell out millions to subsidize coverage of some of the country’s most divisive political issues. It is unclear‍ when the AP began entering such partnerships, but⁢ they have ⁢proved lucrative in recent years.

The⁤ Charles ‍Stewart Mott Foundation, for example, provided $500,000 in 2022 to the Associated ⁢Press’s ⁢”democracy journalism initiative.” The foundation recently blasted the Supreme‌ Court​ decision to ‌overturn affirmative action, saying the ⁣decision “impedes ‌colleges and universities from selecting their own student bodies and fully ⁤addressing systemic racial inequalities that persist.”

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation spent $2.5 million on the AP’s climate and education reporting verticals and sent $400,000 to ‍its‌ democracy⁣ journalism initiative. The foundation also funds Planned Parenthood and organizations such​ as Advocates for Youth, which promotes transgender ideology to kindergartners.

The AP takes in millions more from philanthropies—the Hewlett Foundation, Walton Family ​Foundation, and others—to fund ⁤reporting on⁣ climate change, such as stories that this ⁢summer’s heat wave is due to global warming,⁣ that President‌ Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act boosted America’s “climate ⁤credibility,” and ⁤that⁤ climate ⁣activists have ramped‌ up protests against the “emissions-spewing‍ lifestyles of‍ the ultrawealthy.”

The Rockefeller Foundation, one of the country’s largest private ⁢philanthropies, in 2021 awarded the ⁢Associated Press $750,000 for a climate change ​initiative ‌to increase reporting “on the increased ⁣and⁣ urgent need for reliable, renewable ​electricity in ‌underserved communities worldwide.”

The Outrider Foundation has donated in a​ bid to ⁢help the AP beef up its coverage of‍ climate change and nuclear ⁣weapons. ‍Outrider has ⁤embraced an apocalyptic view of both issues. In recent years, the foundation ​launched an app that simulates the effects of ⁢a nuclear detonation. One of ⁤its ⁣advisers is Michael​ Mann, the climate researcher behind the controversial “hockey ‌stick” graph, which claims global temperatures spiked dramatically around 1900 due⁣ to manmade global warming.

The Public Welfare Foundation, which gave the Associated ‍Press a $200,000 grant​ this year for investigative reporting on ⁤crime issues, funds organizations‌ that supported legislation in Washington, ‌D.C., to​ drastically reduce penalties for various crimes.

Associated Press ​spokeswoman‌ Nicole Meir told⁣ the Washington Free Beacon that the organization maintains “complete control”‌ over content produced ⁣through⁤ its philanthropic ​partnerships, and‌ that “no​ funder has any ⁤influence over AP ‌journalism.”