Press Releases
Influential Right-Wing Group Gave $20 Million to Climate Deniers & Over $16 Million to Anti-Conservation Groups
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Accountable.US released two new analyses based on data from the recently obtained 990 forms of DonorsTrust, one of the nation’s most influential right-wing organizations. The group, nicknamed the “Dark Money ATM of the Right” gave over $20 million to groups spreading climate denialism and over $16 million to groups seeking to reduce or privatize America’s public lands.
The analysis revealed that grants these extremist groups received likely supported their conspiracy-ridden PR campaigns that distorted climate science and spread lies. Other groups advance their fringe policy positions that, if enacted, would essentially eliminate federal public lands as we know them. Moreover, many of the groups that received funding from DonorsTrust also have close financial relationships with Big Oil and other extractive industries.
DonorsTrust knows what Big Oil and other extractive industries know, climate action and conservation efforts are incredibly popular. So in order to muddy the waters and force their extreme agenda on Americans, they bankroll fringe anti-public lands groups and climate deniers to do their dirty work so they can continue to profit from their continued exploitation of our environment.”
said Kayla Hancock, Director of Power & Influence at Accountable.US.
Key Findings From the Analyses:
State Policy Network | $9,034,775 | Spreads Climate denialism and supports the Bundy Land Grab movement. |
Mackinac Center for Public Policy | $2,843,750 | “Mackinac has also called research on anthropogenic global warming a ‘pseudoscience.” |
Discovery Institute | $1,503,000 | Discovery Institute promotes climate change denialism |
Competitive Enterprise Institute | $815,500 | Competitive Enterprise Institute is a leading promoter of climate change denialism & Supports privatizing public land. |
Discovery Institute | $1,503,000 | Discovery Institute promotes climate change denialism |