Left-wing journalism has a major backer in Craigslist founder Craig Newmark. He just gave a $1 million unrestricted gift to Mother Jones, a “progressive” online magazine.
The Poynter Institute reported on Aug. 27, the funding is to “boost the investigative outlet’s ability to combat disinformation campaigns against the American people.”
Newmark told Poynter, “Publications like Mother Jones do a good job of fighting it, and I though with more resources, they would do an even better job.”
Mother Jones offers reporting and commentary like “The Modern Automobile Must Die, “The Inequality of America’s Levee Systems,” “Watch Video of an NRA President Meeting With an Alleged Russian Spy,” “Hidden Figures: How Donald Trump Is Rigging the Census” and many attacks on Fox News.
The liberal magazine was “honored” by the gift. CEO Monika Bauerlein said, “This is an investment in the toughest—and most rewarding—kind of journalism, the deep investigative work that is not under attack from all sides.” Mother Jones said Newmark’s funding was for the Moment for Mother Jones campaign, which has raised “nearly $20 million in special gifts and pledges” since 2016.
Newmark previously gave millions to liberal journalism groups including ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity, Center for Investigative Reporting, Alternet and Mother Jones. Craig Newmark Foundation money also helped finance FactStreem — a two-year fact-checking project used to check President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in real time in 2018.
He also funded an ethics chair at Poynter Institute’s journalism school. Poynter’s story about the Mother Jones gift included a disclosure about Newmark’s support.
