Despite its attempts to cast itself as an objective investigative news operation, ProPublica is actually a Democrat propaganda mill bankrolled by leftist mega-donors, a new report found.
Published by Restoration of America (ROA), the analysis uncovers how the investigative nonprofit spearheading the left’s assault against conservative Supreme Court justices acts as a PR operation for the Democrat Party. After reviewing more than 700 ProPublica articles published between January 2022 and September 2023, Restoration News discovered that the outlet is “23 times more likely to attack conservatives than the Left.”
“Of the 716 articles reviewed, 242 were politically slanted, with a large disparity between anti-liberal and anti-leftist pieces,” the report reads. “In total, 232 were anti-conservative and 10 were anti-left.”
These numbers aren’t surprising when considering the political preferences of ProPublica’s staff, many of whom ROA discovered are registered Democrats. Of the more than half of staffers whose political affiliation could be determined (35 of 65), 27 were identified as Democrats while only three could be classified as Republicans.
“Consider that ProPublica is often characterized as a nonprofit ‘watchdog’ rather than as a partisan group by left-leaning and ‘mainstream’ publications, if it’s characterized at all,” the report reads. “Contrast that with these same publications’ treatment of conservative groups as biased, partisan, or ideologically motivated. That’s a credibility it doesn’t deserve.”
When it’s not giving softball interviews to President Biden, ProPublica is busy leading Democrats’ smear campaign against Supreme Court justices who dare to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Throughout the past year, ProPublica has published numerous hit pieces against Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito attempting to make it appear as if the high court’s most conservative justices committed ethics violations while serving on the bench (they didn’t). Other left-wing outlets have joined ProPublica in this endeavor, with Politico publishing a hit job targeting Justice Neil Gorsuch.
The political make-up of ProPublica’s staff is hardly the only factor driving the outlet’s leftist agenda, however. Confirming the reporting of conservative media outlets, ROA noted ProPublica has received tens of millions of dollars from many of the same leftist mega-donors bankrolling Democrat-aligned organizations that attack conservative Supreme Court justices.
According to the report, ProPublica’s biggest donor is The Sandler Foundation, an organization that’s backed numerous left-wing causes and has given ProPublica nearly $50 million since 2010. Since 2015, The Sandler Foundation has given $7.5 million to the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), a left-wing organization funded by leftist billionaire George Soros that “focuses on strict enforcement of campaign finance laws.” According to ROA, ProPublica has also received millions of dollars ($3 million) from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, another Soros-backed group.
American Constitution Society (ACS), which has been described as “the Left’s answer to the Federalist Society,” has also received millions from the Sandler group in recent years.
Another prominent ProPublica donor is the Marisla Foundation, which in addition to giving more than $2 million to ProPublica, has given roughly $1 million to the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW. As described by ROA, CREW is a “legal advocacy group connected to Republican-turned-Democrat strategist David Brock’s partisan Super PAC American Bridge 21st Century,” and has “worked to remove Thomas from his position” on the high court.
So how does this interconnected web of dark-money donors and their leftist agenda affect ProPublica’s “reporting” on the Supreme Court? As ROA documents, ProPublica’s hit pieces on conservative justices have often cited officials from several of the aforementioned groups.
In one of its articles attacking Thomas, for instance, ProPublica quoted Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge appointed by President Bill Clinton. While ProPublica noted Gertner’s history serving on the bench, it omitted the fact that “she sits on ACS’s board.” The outlet has also quoted Kedric Payne, CLC’s senior director for ethics, who “frequently testifies on Supreme Court ethics and testified on the issue against Thomas as a Democrat in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in May.”
In addition to attacking conservative Supreme Court justices, ProPublica has also regularly targeted former President Donald Trump and parents concerned about sexually explicit material, critical race theory, and so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs in their children’s schools.
