Last year, right-wing activists masqueraded as a pimp and a prostitute and used a phony storyline and a hidden camera to take down the community group ACORN. ACORN was eventually absolved and the unsavory tactics of the right exposed, but that hasn’t stopped the right from moving on to a new target: the Berkeley, California-based Greenlining Institute. Like ACORN, the Greenlining Institute is a progressive organization that advocates for the poor and works for economic justice. It also supports implementation and enforcement of the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law passed in 1977 to mitigate deteriorating conditions in low and moderate-income neighborhoods by addressing the practice of redlining — denying credit or insurance to people based on their ethnic background or neighborhood.
Anti-ACORN Tactics Dusted off, Used Again
In April, the Examiner, a conservative news operation owned by one of the world’s richest men, Denver businessman Philip Anschutz, ran a five-part series of accusatory articles that manufactured a supposed “scandal” involving the Greenlining Institute. The articles had titles like “Examiner Special Report: Greenlining Institute’s intimidation of banks in the name of ‘social justice,” “Radical group perfects legal bank heists,” and “Greenlining and ACORN: Two peas in a pod?” One of the series’ two authors, Tori Richards, wrote that the Greenlining Institute has been called “a bunch of shakedown artists, a growing menace and a cousin” to ACORN. The articles contained provocative but unsubstantiated charges against the organization and accused the Institute of “political extortion.” The authors did not, however, provide factual evidence of malfeasance.
Attacker’s Corporate Backing
The second Examiner author, Mark Tapscott, started his journalism career as a national staff reporter for the Washington Times. He now works for CalWatchdog, a project of the Pacific Research Institute, a conservative organization funded by Altria/Philip Morris, ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Pfizer, Verizon and AT&T, among other large corporations.
The Examiner articles about the Greenlining Institute support conservatives’ long-sought goal of de-funding progressive organizations and repealing the Community Reinvestment Act. They also use the same tactics the right used to de-fund ACORN, specifically baseless accusations and innuendo. Supporters of the Greenlining Institute fear that conservatives’ promotion of misinformation and broadside, baseless attacks will have the same effect on the Institute as they had on ACORN.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
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In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
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Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
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