Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
Background
The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity is a 501(c)(3) conservative media organization located in Bismarck, North Dakota that trains journalists and publishes political news and commentary. Established in January 2009, The Franklin Center “supports and trains investigative journalists to advance transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility in local government, and to spotlight free-market, pro-liberty solutions to difficult public policy challenges,” according to its website. The Franklin Center obtained non-profit status in June, 2009. [1], [2]
The Franklin Center was originally launched and funded by Eric O’Keefe’s now-defunct Sam Adams Alliance (SAA), a conservative think-tank which encouraged “grass-roots activism.” The website was registered by John Connors, who also worked with Americans for Prosperity and was the public face of the dark money group Citizens for a Strong America. [58], [10]
The Center has also been criticized for funding partisan polls, and has ties to the Tea Party training group American Majority. The Center maintains a large and growing number of news bureaus across the United States. [9], [10]
When the Center was created, it started with a budget of zero dollars, which by 2009 had jumped to $2.4 million (this being money from the Sam Adams Alliance, the National Journal reports). “That’s a spectacular leap for a nonprofit, especially in Medora,” Jeff Nesbit writes in a 2016 profile of the Franklin Center in Salon. “It was almost as if someone wished to utilize the charter concept of the Franklin Center—developing individual but interlinked news centers across the United States that would all promote the same messages—for other purposes and therefore infused it with a mountain of funding and network support. Intriguingly, this was a year before the Tea Party movement seemingly sprang from nowhere and spread like a prairie fire to the thirty-nine state capitals where the Franklin Center now operates its news sites.” [34]
From 2007/2008, the Franklin Center rapidly grew to become the largest network of local political reporting in the country with 55 news sites generally “from an antitax, antiregulation, or antispending frame,” reports Nesbit. “While each of the sites has its own team of local reporters, they generally tend to share common themes across the entire network of coverage, recent studies have shown.” It describes its network of reporters as “watchdogs.” [34]
The Franklin Center maintains local sites and reporters which adhere to an overarching platform:
“All publications have a mission and a voice. We are unabashed in ours: to spotlight waste, fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars by state and local governments. We always ask these questions when reporting on events: What does this mean for taxpayers? Will it advance or restrict individual freedom? We look at the bigger picture, provide analysis that’s often missing from modern news stories, and do more than provide ‘he-said, she-said’ reports from the state Capitol. Our journalists look for the back story and offer much-needed perspective on the day’s news.” [34]
Nesbit comments that by maintaining multiple news outlets with the same underlying themes, the Franklin Center can obscure its influence: “The state legislators and local readers also aren’t generally aware that a national center is directing traffic.”
In many states, the Franklin Center is a large source of political news:
“Specializing in state and local government, [the] Franklin Center has focused its efforts on reaching maximum penetration within small and mid-sized media markets—on driving a conversation about transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility at the grassroots level and putting a human face on public policy,” it says. “We specialize in reaching a layman’s audience through local media, coordinating our nationwide network to ensure that we are hitting this audience in every state.” [34]
GOP, Koch, Americans for Prosperity, & Tea Party Connections
The Franklin Center’s former president is Jason Stverak, former executive director of the North Dakota Republican Party and former regional field director for the Sam Adams Alliance. [34], [35]
The Franklin Center’s director of donor development, Matt Hauck, worked for the Charles G. Koch Foundation. Its senior vice president in charge of strategic initiatives, Erik Telford, worked for the Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity before joining the Franklin Center. The founding board member who set it up was Rudie Martinson, who helped run Americans for Prosperity in North Dakota. Martinson is still on the Franklin Center’s board. One of the founders of the Franklin Center, John Tsarpalas, is a past president of the Sam Adams Alliance and director of the Illinois Republican Party. [34]
Jeff Nesbit reports that “Like the Sam Adams Alliance training sessions that were conducted under the umbrella of Americans for Prosperity in the year or so prior to the Chicago Tea Party event, most of the Franklin Center’s training sessions for citizen journalists are likewise conducted in partnership with Americans for Prosperity.” [34]
Watchdog.org/Citizen Watchdog
As of 2016, the Franklin Center’s public 990 form stated the Center’s main program was Watchdog.org with approximately 80% of the Center’s budget going to the program, with the remaining 20% going to administrative and operations costs.
Watchdog.org’s stated mission is to “restore oversight of our state governments, to hold politicians and bureaucrats at all levels accountable for their handling of taxpayers’ dollars and to promote innovative solutions to public policy challenges.” [57]
The Franklin Center launched its initial “activist training program” in 2012, entitled Citizen Watchdog, with the stated goal of raising “an army of citizen journalists, trained and equipped to serve as watchdogs in their local communities.” The Franklin Center’s Watchdog.org promoted the work of its “affiliates” across the country. [3]
Salon magazine reported on the Franklin Center’s program:
“We’re leaders in the new wave of non-profit journalism. We have reporters, news sites, investigative journalists and affiliates across the country—and we’re growing. In addition to our nationwide team of professional journalists, we are expanding our reach into citizen journalism,” the Franklin Center wrote. “We provide training to these citizen watchdogs so that they can better employ journalistic standards as they keep their local governments accountable through their blogs and Web sites. While distinct from our journalism efforts, this new wave of information activism will help fulfill Franklin’s vision of creating a more vibrant democratic society based on accountability and open government.” [34]
Franklin Center Criticism
While the Center projects itself as being non-partisan, a number of groups have criticized the Franklin Center for a conservative bias and The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism ranked the Watchdog.org group as “highly ideological.” It also maintains other ties to the right: Jason Stverak, former President of the Franklin Center was also the past executive director of the North Dakota Republican Party. The Center’s current President, Erik Telford, has previous ties to the right-wing Americans for Prosperity. [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]
Reporter Gene Gibbons criticized Watchdog.org’s journalism quality in the Nieman Reports (a publication of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard):
“For the most part, the people in charge of these would-be watchdog operations are political hacks out to subvert journalism in their quest to grab and keep power using whatever means they have to do so. […] At the forefront of an effort to blur the distinction between statehouse reporting and political advocacy is the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity.” [11]
When Gibbons interviewed Franklin Center President Jason Stverak in the spring of 2010 for the Nieman Foundation report, Stverak told him that the Franklin Center journalists were held to the same journalism ethics as those from traditional newspapers. They should be judged “based upon the content that they produce,” Stverak said.
However, when Gibbons looked further he found “political propaganda dressed up as journalism.” Jeff Nesbit writes at Salon how four months after the interview Gibbons wrote, “The Franklin Center co-sponsored and played an active role in a two-day conference organized by Americans for Prosperity Foundation. The Right Online Agenda conference included such breakout sessions as ‘Intro to Online Activism’ and ‘Killing the Death Tax’ and featured speakers such as conservative U.S. Representative Michele Bachman of Minnesota and Tea Party activist Sharron Angle, a Republican who was then running against Harry Reid in the election for U.S. Senate in Nevada. No Democratic legislators were included in the program. The finale of the Las Vegas conference was a ‘November is Coming Rally.’ ” [34]
Stance on Climate Change
While the Franklin Center does not appear to have an official statement on climate change, its affiliated news outlets regularly publishes articles questioning man-made climate change. Some examples below:
December 10, 2015
According to Roy Cordato, who writes in Franklin-Center-affiliated Carolina Journal, “Warming has actually occurred at a pace far below what any climate models have predicted,” (Citing Anthony Watts citing Roy Spencer.) [45]
Cordato claims there has been a “[…] ‘pause’ in warming, that is the flat trend in global temperatures over the last 18 — now going on 19 — years […]” (Citing himself, citing Anthony Watts, who reposted an article written by Christopher Monckton that finally cites Ross McKitrick). [45]
Cordato continues, writing that “global warming is not about data points,” but that this is a “a trick pulled by global warming alarmists over the last decade” (citing himself, citing Fred Singer). [45]
2015
“There is a way for Nevada to fight back. Every business owner and electricity consumer in Nevada should encourage both Gov. Brian Sandoval and Attorney General Adam Laxalt to join 27 other states and fight the Clean Power Plan in federal court.” — Michael Schaus, Nevada Policy Research Institute. [44]
2014
“I continue to contend that ‘climate change’ is a meaningless phrase because the climate obviously changes. But how? To what effect? It’s like saying ‘baby change’ about an infant. How? Is he well and growing? Is he ill?
“’Climate change’ is useful for political activism because, unlike ‘global warming,’ it can’t be tested.” — John Seiler, CalWatchdog.com. [41]
2013
“There’s seemingly nothing anyone can do to appease global warming activists bent on putting the nation’s energy suppliers out of business.” [12]
2012
“Many people will uncritically blame fossil fuel use for recent warm weather. But they are blind to how fossil fuels have reduced climate-related deaths since the 1920s.” —Brian T. Schwartz, Boulder Daily Camera (republished by Independence Institute.org) [43]
2011
“[T]here are rifts in the scientific community – among scientists themselves when it comes to global warming, what — if anything — should be done about it, and a number of climatologists worry their discipline is getting pulled into overtly political directions. “ [13]
“The science is settled? While I got the impression there’s plenty of consensus among the scientists at the Santa Fe conference on a warming planet, there wasn’t much agreement on points beyond that.” [13]
June 2011
“Hard-nosed physical evidence of man-made global warming has yet to be provided by the promoters of warming, even after a nominal $80 billion dollars have been spent in the attempt to do so.” — Michael Fox, Hawaii Reporter. [42]
Funding
According to research by the Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch, “Franklin acts as a hub that distributes funding that it receives from right-wing institutions such as the Wisconsin-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance.” [17]
The following funding details are based on data collected by the Conservative Transparency Project. Note that not all of the following funding values have been verified by DeSmogBlog for accuracy. See the attached spreadsheet for more information on the Franklin Center’s funding by year (.xlsx). [33]
Franklin Center as Recipient
| Donor | Total |
| Donors Capital Fund | $33,144,119 |
| DonorsTrust | $5,851,973 |
| The Thirteen Foundation | $1,309,775 |
| The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation | $885,500 |
| Searle Freedom Trust | $812,500 |
| Walton Family Foundation | $650,000 |
| Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation | $357,736 |
| Wellspring Committee | $160,000 |
| Dunn’s Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking | $155,000 |
| Judicial Education Project | $100,000 |
| State Policy Network | $100,000 |
| Pew Charitable Trusts | $80,784 |
| Mywireless.org | $50,000 |
| Sarah Scaife Foundation | $35,000 |
| Americans for Prosperity Foundation | $30,000 |
| Castle Rock Foundation | $25,000 |
| Adolph Coors Foundation | $25,000 |
| Armstrong Foundation | $25,000 |
| Vernon K Krieble Foundation | $24,500 |
| Hickory Foundation | $20,000 |
| Friedman Foundation For Educational Choice | $10,000 |
| Einhorn Family Foundation | $6,000 |
| Robert P Rotella Foundation | $5,000 |
| National Christian Charitable Foundation | $2,000 |
| Joyce and Donald Rumsfeld Foundation | $1,000 |
| Grand Total | $43,865,887 |
Franklin Center as Donor
| Recipient | Total |
| Government Accountability Institute | $2,000,000 |
| Cause of Action | $894,000 |
| Hard Boiled Film | $556,550 |
| Freedom Through Justice | $350,000 |
| Texas Watchdog | $322,500 |
| Nevada News Bureau | $257,351 |
| Oregon Capitol | $250,000 |
| Frontier Lab | $235,000 |
| Missouri News Network | $200,000 |
| Cowboy State Free Press | $156,000 |
| TN Watch | $150,000 |
| Foundation for Ethics in Public Service | $115,000 |
| Maryland Reporter.com | $93,000 |
| James Madison Institute | $75,000 |
| Small Business Foundation Hawaii | $71,500 |
| Idaho Freedom Foundation | $60,000 |
| TNRReport.com | $50,000 |
| True The Vote | $50,000 |
| Pershing Center | $45,000 |
| Lucy Burns Institute | $43,412 |
| Pelican Institute | $36,000 |
| American Majority | $25,000 |
| American Phoenix Foundation | $25,000 |
| Citizen Outreach Foundation | $25,000 |
| Tennessee Center for PP | $25,000 |
| Rhode Island Center for Freedom | $7,500 |
| Independence Institute | $6,750 |
| Talent Market | $6,000 |
| Grand Total | $6,130,563 |
DonorsTrust/Donors Capital Fund
In addition to seed money from the Sam Adams Alliance, The Franklin Center received significant funding from grants channeled through DonorsTrust (DT) over the years, with much of this finding going directly to the center’s campaigns against alternative energy and the recognition of climate change. According to the Center for Public Integrity, 95 percent of the Franklin Center’s revenue in 2011 came from DonorsTrust. [14], [15]
From 2009 to 2013, The Franklin Center received a total of at least $20,257,169 from Donors Capital Fund (DCF), and an additional $4,224,520 from DonorsTrust.
Mother Jones magazine described DonorsTrust as the “Dark Money ATM of the Conservative Movement.” DT and DCF allow for anonymous donations from individuals and groups that want to conceal their donor information through “donor-advised funds.” [16]
990 Forms
Franklin Center Contact & Location
The first legal address of the Franklin Center was a taffy shop in Medora, North Dakota. Its second address is a post office box in Bismark, North Dakota, which forwards mail to Old Town Alexandria, near Washington, DC. [34]
North Dakota law requires that nonprofits have a “physical address,” not just a forwarding address or a post office box. This was why, for years, the Franklin Center was registered to the taffy shop while the mail was forwarded from the UPS store in Bismarck. [34]
As of May, 2016, the Franklin Center listed the following contact information on its website: [46]
Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity
107 S. West St.
Suite 718
Alexandria, VA 22314Phone: (571) 384-2090
Fax: (571) 384-2093
Key People
Board of Directors
| 2012[38] | 2015 [18] | 2016[37] | |
| Blair Thoreson | Y | ||
| Doug Loen | Y | ||
| Ed McFadden | Y | ||
| Erik Telford | Y | ||
| Jack Fowler | Y | Y | |
| Jason Stverak | Y | ||
| John J. Miller | Y | Y | |
| Mary Beth Weiss | Y | Y | |
| Rudie Martinson | Y |
Leadership Team
| 2015[19] | 2016[39] | Description | |
| Erik Telford | Y | Past President | |
| Mary Ellen Beatty | Y | Chief of Staff | |
| Nicole Neily | Y | President | |
| Steve Mullins | Y | Chief Financial Officer | |
| Will Swaim | Y | Past Vice President of Journalism |
Communications & Outreach
| 2015[19] | 2016[39] | Description | |
| Breyana Franklin | Y | Past Public Affairs Manager | |
| Josh Kaib | Y | Outreach and Content Manager | |
| Kevin Glass | Y | Y | Director of Outreach and Policy |
| Spencer Schwartz | Y | Outreach & Communications Intern | |
| Victor Nava | Y | Past Staff Writer |
Development
| 2015[19] | 2016[39] | Description | |
| Christina Pajak | Y | Y | Manager of Investor Relations |
| John Courts | Y | Y | Development Operations and Research Manager |
| Matthew Hauck | Y | Y | Director of Development |
| Megan Ritter | Y | Past Grants Manager and Development Writer | |
| Shana Davidson | Y | Past Direct Marketing Manager |
Marketing & Special Projects (2016) [39]
| Name | Description |
| Andrew Collins | Digital Media Manager |
| Kristen Hawley | Digital Marketing Manager |
| Scott Kocen | Technology Adviser |
Operations/Administration
| 2015[19] | 2016[39] | Description | |
| Alyssa Viscomi | Y | Past Executive Assistant | |
| Becky Wessels | Y | Y | Director of Operations |
Watchdog Arena (2015) [19]
| Name | Description |
| Jackie Bastasch | Managing Editor, Watchdog Arena |
| Josh Kaib | Outreach and Content Manager |
Watchdog.org
| 2015[19] | 2016[39] | |
| Amelia Hamilton | Y | |
| Andrew Staub | Y | |
| Arthur Kane | Y | |
| Bruce Parker | Y | |
| Chris Butler | Y | |
| Deena Winter | Y | |
| Eric Boehm | Y | Y |
| Evan Grossman | Y | Y |
| Heather Kays | Y | |
| James Wigderson | Y | |
| Jason Hart | Y | Y |
| John Bicknell | Y | Y |
| John Trump | Y | |
| Johnny Kampis | Y | Y |
| Jon Cassidy | Y | Y |
| Kenric Ward | Y | Y |
| Mark Lagerkvist | Y | |
| Mark Lisheron | Y | Y |
| Mary Ellen Beatty | Y | |
| Matt Kittle | Y | Y |
| Moriah Costa | Y | |
| Paul Brennan | Y | |
| Rob Nikolewski | Y | |
| Steve Wilson | Y | Y |
| Tom Steward | Y | |
| Tori Richards | Y | |
| Will Swaim | Y |
Past People
Advisory Committee (2012) [40]
- Tucker Carlson — Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Caller.
- Jack Fowler — Publisher, National Review.
- Ashley Landess — President, South Carolina Policy Council.
- Joseph Lehman — President, Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
- Mark Tapscott — Executive Editor, The Washington Examiner.
Staff (2012 – Partial List) [20]
- Jason Stverak — President. Past Field Director, Sam Adams Alliance.
- Gwen Beattie — Executive Vice President. Former Director, America’s Future Foundation.
- John Connors — Director of Special Projects.
- Steven Greenhut — Vice President of Journalism.
- Erik Telford — Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Outreach.
Development and Outreach
- Alicia Barrett — Manager of Investor Relations
- Shana Davidson — Direct Marketing Manager
- Matt Hauck — Director of Development. Former Associate, Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation.
- Christina Pajak — Manager of Investor Relations.
- Megan Ritter — Grants Manager and Development Writer.
- John Courts — Development Coordinator.
- Kathy McDonald — Senior Director of External Affairs.
Actions
July 12, 2016
The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, represented by Nicole Neily, was among 22 groups represented in a “Coalition” open letter pushing back against what the Heartland Institute describes as an “affront to free speech.” The groups are responding to the recent Web of Denial Resolution brought up in the Senate, calling out fossil fuel industry-funded groups denying climate change. [53]
According to the Climate Investigations Center, all but one of the open letter’s signatory organizations have taken money (totalling at least $92 million since 1997) from the “climate denial web” including Koch Brothers’ various foundations, ExxonMobil, and two “Dark Money” organizations, Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund. [56]
Championed by Senators Whitehouse, Markey, Schatz, Boxer, Merkley, Warren, Sanders, and Franken, the resolution condemns what they are calling the #WebOfDenial — “interconnected groups – funded by the Koch brothers, major fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil and Peabody Coal, identity-scrubbing groups like Donors Trust and Donors Capital, and their allies – developed and executed a massive campaign to deceive the public about climate change to halt climate action and protect their bottom lines.” [54]
The open letter addresses the senators, calling them “tyrants”:
“We hear you. Your threat is clear: There is a heavy and inconvenient cost to disagreeing with you. Calls for debate will be met with political retribution. That’s called tyranny. And, we reject it.” [55]
The full list of signatories and their respective organizations is as follows:
- Grover Norquist — Americans for Tax Reform
- Lisa B. Nelson — American Legislative Exchange Council
- John A. Charles, Jr. — Cascade Policy Institute
- David Rothbard — Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow
- Kent Lassman — Competitive Enterprise Institute
- Nicole Neily — Franklin Center for Government and Policy Integrity
- Benita Dodd — Georgia Public Policy Foundation
- Bridgett Wagner — The Heritage Foundation
- Fred Birnbaum — Idaho Freedom Foundation
- Joseph Bast — The Heartland Institute
- J. Robert McClure III — James Madison Institute
- Brett Healy — The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy
- Kory Swanson — John Locke Foundation
- Dave Trabert — Kansas Policy Institute
- Jason Hayes — Mackinac Center for Public Policy
- Brent Mead — Montana Policy Institute
- Sharon J. Rossie — Nevada Policy Research Institute
- Sally Pipes — Pacific Research Institute
- Kevin Kane — Pelican Institute for Public Policy
- Paul J. Gessing — Rio Grande Foundation
- Lynn Taylor — Virginia Institute for Public Policy
- Carol Platt Liebau — Yankee Institute for Public Policy
June 13, 2016
The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity was listed as a creditor in Peabody Energy’s 2016 bankruptcy filings, reports the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD/PRWatch). [47]
While the available bankruptcy documents do not list the scale or dates of funding, they outline Peabody Energy’s financial ties to a large network of groups promoting climate change denial. [48]
Prominent individuals appearing in the documents include climate deniers Willie Soon, Richard Lindzen, Roy Spencer and Richard Berman. The long list of organizations also includes groups such as Americans for Prosperity, American Legislative Exchange Council, CFACT, Institute for Energy Research, State Policy Network, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and dozens more. [49]
The Guardian also analysed and reported on the Peabody bankruptcy findings: [50]
“These groups collectively are the heart and soul of climate denial,” said Kert Davies, founder of the Climate Investigation Center, who has spent 20 years tracking funding for climate denial. “It’s the broadest list I have seen of one company funding so many nodes in the denial machine.”
The company’s filings reveal funding for a range of organisations which have fought Barack Obama’s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and denied the very existence of climate change. […]
Among Peabody’s beneficiaries, the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change has insisted – wrongly – that carbon emissions are not a threat but “the elixir of life” while the American Legislative Exchange Council is trying to overturn Environmental Protection Agency rules cutting emissions from power plants. Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity campaigns against carbon pricing. The Oklahoma chapter was on the list. […]
“The breadth of the groups with financial ties to Peabody is extraordinary. Thinktanks, litigation groups, climate scientists, political organisations, dozens of organisations blocking action on climate all receiving funding from the coal industry,” said Nick Surgey, director of research for the Center for Media and Democracy.
“We expected to see some denial money, but it looks like Peabody is the treasury for a very substantial part of the climate denial movement.”
Notable organizations listed in the initial documents include:
- 60 Plus Association
- The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
- American Energy Alliance
- Alliance For Energy And Economic Growth
- American Energy Alliance
- American Legislative Exchange Council
- Americans For Prosperity Oklahoma
- Atlas Economic Research Foundation
- Berman And Company, Inc
- Consumer Energy Alliance
- Center For Clean Air Policy
- Center for Energy and Economic Development
- Center For The Study Of Carbon Dioxide And Global Change
- Coalition for Responsible Regulation
- Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow
- Council on State Taxation
- DCI Group AZ, LLC
- Ducks Unlimited
- Energy & Environment Legal Institute
- Edison Electric Institute
- Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
- Free Market Environmental Law Clinic
- Frontiers Of Freedom Institute
- George C. Marshall Institute
- Hill Knowlton Strategies
- Hill Knowlton, Inc
- Hudson Institute
- Hunton & Williams
- Independence Institute
- Institute For Energy Research
- Institute for Liberty
- National Association of Manufacturers
- National Black Chamber of Commerce
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- National Mining Association
- National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
- National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
- NextGen Energy Council
- PACE (May refer to Partnership for Affordable Clean Energy)
- Science & Public Policy Institute
- Sidley Austin LLP
- State Policy Network
- Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute
- Texas Public Policy Foundation
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Western Business Roundtable
Notable individuals named in the initial documents include the following:
May 2, 2016
Kevin Glass, Director of Outreach and Policy at the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, wrote an article sympathetic to Duke Energy in Real Clear Markets. [51]
According to Kevin Glass, “shameless green groups are […] running ads in North Carolina vilifying Duke Energy and are ramping up their attacks against the company over coal ash. Their motivation is clear: They want to link Republican Governor Pat McCrory – a former longtime Duke Energy employee – to a contrived ‘pollution’ scandal.” [51]
Glass says that residents of North Carolina have been “needlessly frightened and misled by both state health officials and by radical environmentalists who will stop at nothing to bring down a trusted, much needed energy producer.” [51]
In 2015, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services issued a do-not-drink order for residents living near coal ash storage ponds managed by Duke Energy. The state had found water wells were contaminated with the carcinogen hexavalent chromium and vanadium, which is known to harm kidneys and affect blood pressure. While “do not drink” notices were released in April, they were later retracted in March, confusing many residents. [52]
Environmental groups said that pointing out how municipal water is also contaminated doesn’t mean the state should withdraw public health protections from citizens using well water. [52]
“While the amounts of hexavalent chromium detected in municipal water supplies in North Carolina are worrisome and show we do need state and federal drinking water standards to catch up to the latest science, some of the levels found in wells near Duke’s coal ash sites have been much higher,” said Katie Hicks, Associate Director for Clean Water for North Carolina. [52]
December, 2012 – July 2014
GreenTech Automotive launched a $85 million lawsuit against the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity after the Center’s December, 2012 investigative series that attempted to tie the manufacturing company to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. [21]
GreenTech accused the Franklin Center and Watchdog.org Virginia bureau chief Kenric Ward of defamation and business interference, saying that it had lost $85 million in investment capital due to the articles that the Center had published.
GreenTech’s suit cites a number of instances of Watchdog.org’s reporting as libelous, including describing the company’s headquarters as a “broom closet.” Additional examples include: [22]
- Quotes from investment advisor Michael Gibson criticizing GTA’s business model “despite the fact Gibson has never seen nor reviewed GTA’s business model”
- “Statements from Gibson calling GTA’S EB-5 funding project a ‘fraud’”
- “False assertions that EB-5 funding is GTA’s chief source of funding and its long-term plan for continuing capital”;
- Allegations that GTA’s plant in Tunica, Miss., is behind schedule in its building and hiring, when both construction and employment goals are on pace to be met;
- Statements contending and/or insinuating that federal agencies are investigating or taking “a closer look” at the sources of GTA’s funding.
“There’s no denying that defending the First Amendment rights and responsibilities of our reporters has been costly to us in terms of time, people and money,” Franklin center president Jason Stverak said, “but it’s hard to put a price on defending the Constitution.”
The lawsuit was dismissed on July 24, 2014 by a Mississippi federal court.
February 2013
The Guardian reported that the Franklin Center was at the forefront of a media campaign against wind and solar power that was largely funded by DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund. [23]
The Guardian also comments on the $6.3 million that the two funds gave to the Franklin Center in 2011, saying that this “Signals a shift in priorities for the conservative billionaires who are funding the anti-climate cause towards local and state-level organising.”
September 12, 2012
Co-sponsored a “Citizen Watchdog Training” event with Americans For Prosperity featuring right-wing activist James O’Keefe who spoke at the event on how “Together, we can begin the hard, but important job of taking back America.”
The event description hints at government conspiracy: “You’ve heard the egregious examples of waste, fraud, and abuse on a daily basis. We can no longer afford to sit by and wait for the government or mainstream media to fully inform the public about what’s going on behind closed doors.” [25]
2011
According to records on file at SourceWatch, The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity was a “Vice-Chairman” level sponsor of the 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) annual conference. [26], [27]
ALEC maintains ties with some of the largest industry organizations and provides connections to state legislators. The group is primarily responsible for drafting bills and resolutions created by the corporations who finance ALEC.
Notably, one of the Franklin Center’s former Directors, Blair Thoreson, was the State Chairman for the North Dakota chapter of ALEC at the time.
February 24, 2011
The Franklin Center commissioned a poll of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal through WisconsinReporter.com, one of the Center’s affiliate websites.
The Franklin Center press release said that “ Poll Shows 71% of Wisconsinites Think Walker’s Budget Changes are ‘Fair’.” [28]
This high percentage created some skepticism about the poll, while the data was cited by major news sources including MSNBC without further investigation. [28], [9], [29]
December, 2011
Watchdog affiliate New Jersey Watchdog posted an article that pushes for the state to drop a regional emissions reduction program. [30]
Related Organizations
- Citizen Watchdog
- Sam Adams Alliance (SAA)
- American Majority
- John Locke Foundation
- John W Pope Civitas Institute
Sourcewatch compiled a list of “Statehouse News Bureaus” associated with the Franklin Center. Note that not all of the following news groups are still in operation: [31]
*(Click image for full size)
- Pacific Research Institute, California, calwatchdog.com
- Independence Institute, Colorado, coloradonewsagency.com
- Hawaii Reporter, Hawaii, hawaiireporter.com
- Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho, idahoreporter.com
- Illinois Statehouse News, Illinois, Illinois.statehousenewsonline.com
- Iowa Politics, Iowa, iowapolitics.com
- Kansas Reporter, Kansas, kansasreporter.com
- Pelican Institute, Louisiana, thepelicanpost.org
- Maryland Reporter, Maryland, marylandreporter.com
- Michigan Center for Public Policy, Michigan, michigancapitolconfidential.com
- Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, Minnesota, mnstatenews.com
- Missouri News Horizon, Missouri, minewshorizon.org
- Montana Policy Institute, Montana, montana.watchdog.org
- Nevada News Bureau, Nevada, nevadanewsbeaureau.com
- Rio Grande Foundation, New Mexico, capitolreportnewmexico.com
- John Locke Foundation, North Carolina, carolinajournal.com
- John William Pope Civitas Institute, North Carolina, nccivitas.org
- Plains Daily, North Dakota, plainsdaily.com
- Capitol Beat OK, Oklahoma, capitolbeatok.com
- Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon, oregoncapitolnews.com
- Pennsylvania Independent, Pennsylvania, paindependent.com
- South Carolina Policy Council, South Carolina, thenerve.org
- Tennessee Report, Tennessee, tnreport.com
- Texas Watchdog, Texas, texaswatchdog.org
- Virginia Statehouse News, Virginia, virginiastatehousenews.com
- Wisconsin Reporter, Wisconsin, wisconsinreporter.com
- Cowboy State Free Press, Wyoming, cowboystatefreepress.net
SourceWatch also archived a list of the Franklin Center’s previously affiliated “Investigative Reporters” or organizations: [32]
- Alabama Policy Institute, Alabama, alabamarighttoknow.org
- Alaska Policy Forum, Alaska, alaska.watchdog.org
- Goldwater Institute, Arizona, goldwaterinstitute.org
- Advance Arkansas Institute, Arkansas, thearkansasproject.com
- Pacific Research Institute, California, calwatchdog.com
- Independence Institute, Colorado, i2i.org
- Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Connecticut, raisinghale.com
- James Madison Institute, Florida, jamesmadison.org
- Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Georgia, forum.georgiapolicy.org
- Hawaii Reporter, Hawaii, hawaiireporter.com
- Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho, idahoreporter.com
- Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois, illinoispolicy.org
- Iowa Politics, Iowa, iowapolitics.com
- Kansas Watchdog, Kansas, Kansas.watchdog.org
- Pelican Institute, Louisiana, thepelicanpost.org
- Maine Watchdog, Maine, maine.watchdog.org
- Maryland Public Policy Institute, Maryland, mdpolicy.com
- Pioneer Institute, Massachusetts, pioneerinstitute.org
- Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Michigan, mackinac.org
- Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, Minnesota, freedomfoundationofminnesota.com
- Missouri Watchdog, Missouri, missouri.watchdog.org
- Montana Policy Institute, Montana, montana.watchdog.org
- Nebraska Watchdog, Nebraska, nebraska.watchdog.org
- Nevada Policy Research Institute, Nevada, npri.org
- Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, New Hampshire, newhampshire.watchdog.org
- New Jersey Watchdog, New Jersey, newjersey.watchdog.org (*Terminated as of December, 2015) [36]
- Rio Grande Foundation, New Mexico, newmexico.watchdog.org
- John Locke Foundation, North Carolina, carolinajournal.com
- Plains Daily, North Dakota, plainsdaily.com
- Ohio Watchdog, Ohio, ohio.watchdog.org
- Oklahoma Watchdog, Oklahoma, oklahoma.watchdog.org
- Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon, oregoncapitolnews.com
- Pennsylvania Independent, Pennsylvania, paindependent.com
- South Carolina Policy Council, South Carolina, thenerve.org
- Tennessee Center for Policy Research, Tennessee, tennessee.watchdog.org
- Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texas, texasbudgersource.com
- Texas Watchdog, Texas, texaswatchdog.org
- Sutherland Institute, Utah, sutherlandinstitute.org
- Old Dominion Watchdog, Virginia, olddominionwatchdog.org
- Freedom Foundation, Washington, myfreedomfoundation.com
- Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia, West Virginia, westvirginia.watchdog.org
- MacIver Institute, Wisconsin, maciverinstitute.com
- Wisconsin Reporter, Wisconsin, wisconsinreporter.org
- Wyoming Liberty Group, Wyoming, wyomingreporter.org
Social Media
- @TennWatchdog on Twitter.
- “Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity” on Facebook.
- “Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity” on LinkedIn.
Resources
- “About,” Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hM9ej87Q
- “About,” Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Archived June 25, 2011. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.
- Elizabeth Hillgrove. “Become a Citizen Watchdog,” Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, March 1, 2012. Archived October 27, 2015. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/tZ8ZJ
- “’Watchdog’ website puts a new spin on politics,” Portland Press Herald, October 2, 2010. Archived October 27, 215. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cbQUvekt
- Allison Kilkenny. “The Koch Spider Web,” truth-out.org, August 4, 2011. Archived October 27, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cbQc4pG8
- “A Closer Look at Non-Profit News Sites,” Journalism.org. Accessed October, 2015.
- “Jason Stverak, President,” Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived October 28, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ccjcSYup
- “Franklin Center Names Erik Telford President,” Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived October 28, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ccjuEMin
- “The Conservative Group Behind The Poll Of Walker’s Budget Plan,” TPM, February 24, 2011 Archived October 27, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cbQjbzXN
- “About,” Sam Adams Alliance. Archived February 16, 2012.
- Gene Gibbons. “Statehouse Beat Woes Portend Bad News for Good Government,” Nieman Reports, December 15, 2010. Archived October 29, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ceHl5VCp
- Dustin Hurst. “As reds and blues unite behind Keystone, greens prepare for battle,” Watchdog.org, January 31, 2013. Archived October 27, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cbRBYuK3
- Rob Nikolewski. ”What I saw at the climate conference; and leading scientist says some colleagues ‘endorse Al Gore even though they know what he’s saying is exaggerated and misleading’.” New MexicoWatchDog.org, November 15, 2011. Archived October 27, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cbTBcLp5
- “Media campaign against windfarms funded by anonymous conservatives,” The Guardian, February 15, 2013. Archived October 28, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ccis65XR
- “Donors use charity to push free-market policies in states,” The Center for Public Integrity, February 14, 2013.
- “Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement,” Mother Jones, February 5, 2013. Archived October 28, 2015.
- Sara Jerving. “Franklin Center: Right-Wing Funds State News Source,” PR Watch, October 27, 2011. Archived October 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/BXikm
- “Board of Directors,” Franklin center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived October 28, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ccxjGaA5
- “Staff,” Franklin center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived October 28, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ccxjGaA5
- “Staff,” Franklin center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived February 21, 2012.
- (Press Release). “Judge Throws Out $85 Million Lawsuit Against Franklin Center,” Franklin center for Government & Public Integrity, July 25, 2014. Archived October 29, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ceK5icis
- Jim Geraghty. “GreenTech vs. Watchdog.org,” National Review, April 17, 2013. Archived October 29, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ceJuTuQe
- Suzanne Goldenberg. “Media campaign against windfarms funded by anonymous conservatives,” The Guardian, February 15, 2013. Archived October 29, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ceIvO8nB
- “Media campaign against windfarms funded by anonymous conservatives,” The Guardian, February 15, 2013. Archived October 28, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ccyKZxLe
- “Citizen Journalist Training With James O’Keefe,” Meetup.com. September 22, 2012. Archived October 28, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ccydcFTo
- “Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity,” SourceWatch. Archived October 28, 2015.
- American Legislative Exchange Council, 2011 Conference Sponsors, conference brochure on file with CMD, August 11, 2011.
- “Poll Shows 71% of Wisconsinites Think Walker’s Budget Changes are ‘Fair’,” Franklin center for Government & Public Integrity, February 21, 2011. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ceC65iCv
- YouTube. MSNBC Pushes Right-Wing Wisconsin Poll. YouTube. Accessed February 16, 2013.
- Mark Lagerkvist. ”IT’S CURTAINS FOR RGGI AS NJ’S CAP–AND–TRADE OPERA ENDS,” New Jersey Watchdog, December 9, 2011. Archived October 29, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ceCFVE2H
- “Statehouse News Bureaus,” SourceWatch, accessed October 29, 2015.
- “Investigative Journalists” (JPG image) Sourcewatch. Accessed October 29, 2015.
- “Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity,” Conservative Transparency. Accessed May 19, 2017. Data on file at DeSmog.
- Jeff Nesbit. “Inside the right-wing lie factory: Secrets of a Koch-funded propaganda machine more insidious than Fox News,” Salon, April 30, 2016. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMCbJCEy
- “Jason Stverak,” Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMEfRrhR
- Alyana Alfaro. “Lack of Funding Cited for NJ Watchdog Termination,” PolitickerNJ, December 7, 2015. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMFE0o0r
- “Board of Directors,” Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMITWsDW
- “Board of Directors,” Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived May 30, 2012. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.
- “Staff,” Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMJ5ubq0
- “Advisory Committee,” Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived May 30, 2012. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogblog.
- John Seiler. “Fact-checking Tom Steyer on climate change,” CalWatchdog.com, August 23, 2014. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMM4icKY
- Michael Fox. “The Corruption of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: A National Peril,” Hawaii Reporter, June 22, 2011. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMMO9pyv
- Brian T. Schwartz. “Fossil fuel use protects us from climate-related risks,” the Boulder Daily Camera, December 15, 2012. Republished by The Independence Institute, December 21, 2012. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMNK83EE
- “EPA is determined to prove Obama right and make energy prices ‘skyrocket’,” Nevada Policy Research Institute, December 9, 2015. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMNfkYXT
- Roy Cordato. “Front-Page Advocacy on Climate Talks,” Carolina Journal, December 10, 2015. Archived May 8, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hMOo5c2H
- “How to get in touch with Franklin Center,” Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity. Archived May 29, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hrI80fDW
- Nick Surgey. “Peabody Coal Bankruptcy Reveals Climate Denial Network Funding,” PRWatch, June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6iPmXjc4W
- “In re: Peabody Energy Corporation, et al. Debtors,” United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division, Case 16-42529, May 27, 2016. Retrieved from DocumentCloud.
- Farron Cousins. “Court Documents Show Coal Giant Peabody Energy Funded Dozens Of Climate Denial Groups,” DeSmogBlog, June 13, 2016.
- Suzanne Goldenberg and Helena Bengtsson. “Biggest US coal company funded dozens of groups questioning climate change,” The Guardian, June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6iPnEUG1o
- Kevin Glass. “Junk Corporate Activism Victimizes North Carolinians,” Real Clear Markets, May 2, 2016. Archived June 25, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6iWFQdIkj
- “Confusion and Fear in North Carolina As State Ends Drinking Water Safety Warning,” DeSmog, March 16, 2016.
- Jim Lakely. “#WebOfDenial Push by Senate Dems Exposes Their Hatred of Free Speech,” Somewhat Reasonable (Heartland Institute Blog), July 12, 2016. Archived July 14, 2016.
- Brendan Demelle. “Senators Launch Resolution, Speech Blitz Calling Out #WebOfDenial Blocking Climate Action,” DeSmog, July 11, 2016.
- Coalition Letter to Senate Web of Denial Resolution (PDF). Retrieved from the Heartland Institute. Archived .pdf on file at DeSMogBlog.
- Cindy Baxter. “Front Groups Attacking #WebofDenial Senate Action Took Over $92M in Dark, Dirty Money,” Desmog, July 14, 2016. Originally posted at Climate Investigations Center.
- “About Us,” Watchdog. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/75rkh6ULf
- Julie Kosterlitz. “Conservative Watchdogs Awake.(Watchdog.org),” National Journal, December 11, 2009. Retrieved from HighBeam Research. Archived September 21, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/UFLRX
Other Resources
- “Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity,” Wikipedia.
- “Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity,” SourceWatch.
- “Donors use charity to push free-market policies in states,” The center for Public Integrity, February 14, 2013. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6ceJCM8wU
