Four months after Facebook was accused of discriminating against conservatives in its news feed, one of its co-founders is set to become the third-largest Democrat donor.
Dustin Moskovitz, one of Facebook’s co-founders who has since left the company, announced he and his wife are diving into political activism by giving $20 million to Democrats for the 2016 presidential election.
“We have reservations about anyone using large amounts of money to influence elections,” Moskowitz wrote in a Sept. 9 statement on Medium. Yet he ignored those reservations and promised donations to liberal PACs and organizations like Hillary Victory Fund, For our Future, MoveOn.org, Color of Change, League of Conservation Voters, and others.
Moskowitz says he hopes his influx of cash will “serve as a signal to the Republican Party” and “make it a little more likely that Secretary Clinton is able to pursue the agenda she’s outlined.”
Supporting Clinton is a trend for current and former Facebook employees. In April, The Hill reported that Clinton was the “largest beneficiary of Facebook donations,” including donations from at least seven vice presidents at the company.
But Moskowitz’ donation is unique. Not only is it the first time he has endorsed and donated to a candidate, but the “historically large” $20 million donation will also make him “the third most generous donor in the 2016 campaign,” according to CNN.
In May 2016, MRC President Brent Bozell and other conservative leaders met with Facebook, after allegations surfaced that Facebook was censoring conservatives news. Bozell said he “left encouraged” that Facebook would address the issue.
Moskowitz did not announce all the organizations he would donate to, but the ones he did list link him to some of the most liberal in the U.S. including these five:
The Hillary Victory Fund
So far, the Hillary Victory Fund has raised at least $26.9 million for Clinton’s campaign. Contributions include $343,000 from liberal billionaire George Soros, whose Open Society Foundations was recently exposed for meddling in the justice system and bailing out Planned Parenthood.
The League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund
The League of Conservation Voters is dedicated to electing “pro-environment” candidates to congress, and “educating the public about important environmental legislation.” Liberal billionaire George Soros donated at least $500,000 to the fund in the 2014 election cycle. Climate activist Tom Steyer, whose climate agenda has been adopted into the official Democrat party platform, donated at least $775,000.
Moskowitz revealed that he will be giving $5 million to the League of Conservation Voters.
For Our Future PAC
The For Our Future PAC was created by Tom Steyer’s climate change group, NextGen Climate, and several labor unions including AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association. The PAC claims to support “building strong public schools, addressing climate change and supporting racial justice.”
So far the PAC has received $2.5 million from the AFL-CIO. However, according to NextGen Climate, “Tom Steyer pledged to contribute matching funds to the PAC.”
Moskowitz promised to give For Our Future $5 million.
MoveOn.org
MoveOn.org calls itself the “largest independent, progressive, digitally-connected organizing group in the United States.” It takes credit for “ending the Iraq War, electing Barack Obama president, enacting health care reform, and taking down the Confederate flag from the state house grounds in South Carolina.”
Soros was one of MoveOn.org’s initial donors and he gave at least $1.46 million.
Color of Change PAC
Color of Change is “the nation’s largest online racial justice organization,” according to its website. It was founded by Van Jones, formerly Obama’s green jobs czar, and now a political commentator for CNN.
Color of Change is sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter movement and brags that it “forced Glenn Beck off cable television” and successfully targeted ALEC (which it calls a “dangerously influential, secretive right-wing policy promoter”).
