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A '''front group''' is an organization that purports to represent one agenda while in reality it serves some other party or interest whose sponsorship is hidden or rarely mentioned. The front group is perhaps the most easily recognized use of the [[third party technique]]. For example, the [[Center for Consumer Freedom]] (CCF) claims that its mission is to defend the rights of consumers to choose to eat, drink and smoke as they please. In reality, CCF is a front group for the tobacco, restaurant and alcoholic beverage industries, which provide all or most of its funding.
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A '''front group''' is an organization that purports to represent one agenda while in reality it serves some other party or interest whose sponsorship is hidden or rarely mentioned. The front group is perhaps the most easily recognized use of the [[third party technique]]. For example, [[Rick Berman]]'s [[Center for Consumer Freedom]] (CCF) claims that its mission is to defend the rights of consumers to choose to eat, drink and smoke as they please. In reality, CCF is a front group for the tobacco, restaurant and alcoholic beverage industries, which provide all or most of its funding.
  
 
Of course, not all organizations engaged in manipulative efforts to shape public opinion can be classified as "front groups." For example, the now-defunct [[Tobacco Institute]] was highly deceptive, but it didn't hide the fact that it represented the tobacco industry. There are also degrees of concealment. The [[Global Climate Coalition]], for example, didn't hide the fact that its funding came from oil and coal companies, but nevertheless its name alone is sufficiently misleading that it can reasonably be considered a front group.
 
Of course, not all organizations engaged in manipulative efforts to shape public opinion can be classified as "front groups." For example, the now-defunct [[Tobacco Institute]] was highly deceptive, but it didn't hide the fact that it represented the tobacco industry. There are also degrees of concealment. The [[Global Climate Coalition]], for example, didn't hide the fact that its funding came from oil and coal companies, but nevertheless its name alone is sufficiently misleading that it can reasonably be considered a front group.
  
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The shadowy way front groups operate makes it difficult to know whether a seemingly independent grassroots is actually representing some other entity.  Thus, citizen smokers' rights groups and organizations of bartenders or restaurant workers working against smoking bans are sometimes characterized as front groups for the tobacco industry, but it is possible that some of these groups are self-initiated (although the tobacco industry has been known to use restaurant groups as fronts for its own interests).
+
The shadowy way front groups operate makes it difficult to know whether a seemingly independent grassroots is actually representing some other entity.  Thus, citizen [[Smokers Rights Groups|smokers' rights groups]] and organizations of bartenders or restaurant workers working against smoking bans are sometimes characterized as front groups for the tobacco industry, but it is possible that some of these groups are self-initiated (although the tobacco industry has been known to use restaurant groups as fronts for its own interests).
  
 
== Characteristics ==
 
== Characteristics ==
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* Re-focuses debate about an issue onto a new or suspiciously unrelated topic, (e.g., [[secondhand smoke]] as a property rights issue)
 
* Re-focuses debate about an issue onto a new or suspiciously unrelated topic, (e.g., [[secondhand smoke]] as a property rights issue)
 
* Has a misleading name that disguises its real agenda, such as the [[National Wetlands Coalition]], which opposed policies to protect U.S. wetlands, or [[Citizens for a Free Kuwait]], which purported to represent U.S. citizens but was actually funded almost entirely by the royal family of Kuwait. Sometimes a front group's name might seem to suggest academic or political neutrality ("[[Consumers' Research]]," "[[American Policy Center]]"), while in fact it consistently turns out opinions, research, surveys, reports, polls and other declarations that benefit the interests of a company, industry or political candidate.
 
* Has a misleading name that disguises its real agenda, such as the [[National Wetlands Coalition]], which opposed policies to protect U.S. wetlands, or [[Citizens for a Free Kuwait]], which purported to represent U.S. citizens but was actually funded almost entirely by the royal family of Kuwait. Sometimes a front group's name might seem to suggest academic or political neutrality ("[[Consumers' Research]]," "[[American Policy Center]]"), while in fact it consistently turns out opinions, research, surveys, reports, polls and other declarations that benefit the interests of a company, industry or political candidate.
−
* Has the same address or phone number as a similar group that has since disbanded, or been forced out of business by exposure, lawsuits, etc.
+
* Has the same address or phone number as a sponsoring corporation, or a similar group that has since disbanded, or been forced out of business by exposure, lawsuits, etc.
 
* Consists of a group of vocal, "esteemed" academic "experts" who go on national tours, put on media events, give press conferences, seminars, workshops, and give editorial board meetings around the country, etc., who ordinarily would not seem to have the budget or financial means to carry out such events
 
* Consists of a group of vocal, "esteemed" academic "experts" who go on national tours, put on media events, give press conferences, seminars, workshops, and give editorial board meetings around the country, etc., who ordinarily would not seem to have the budget or financial means to carry out such events
 
* Touts repeatedly in communications that it is "independent," "esteemed," "credible" etc.
 
* Touts repeatedly in communications that it is "independent," "esteemed," "credible" etc.
 +
* Has a custom-painted, luxury bus that goes on highly-publicized, national tours
 +
* Has remarkably low, if any, individual membership fees. (Front groups are typically in need of individual members to bolster their claims of being a "grassroots" organization. They need these individuals' representation more than their money -- since they are already well-funded by corporations -- so individual dues will typically be very low, perhaps $5 or $10, while group or corporate dues are much higher.)
  
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An organization that only has a few of these characteristics may not be a true front group. For example, the tobacco industry has given funding to youth organizations such as the [[w:Jaycees|Jaycees]] and [[w:4-H]] clubs, which serves a public relations goal by helping the industry cultivate an image of corporate responsibility. This PR tactic is an example of the [[third party technique]], and organizations that trade their reputations for corporate funding may be naive, gullible or opportunistic, but this in itself would not make them a front group.
+
An organization that only has a few of these characteristics may not be a true front group. For example, the tobacco industry has given funding to youth organizations such as the [[w:Jaycees|Jaycees]] and [[w:4-H]] clubs, which serves a public relations goal by helping the industry cultivate an image of [[Corporate Social Responsibility|corporate responsibility]]. This PR tactic is an example of the [[third party technique]], and organizations that trade their reputations for corporate funding may be naive, gullible or opportunistic, but this in itself would not make them a front group.
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
 
[[Edward Bernays]], who is generally regarded as the "father of public relations," liked to tell people, "What I do is propaganda, and I just hope it's not impropaganda." In his later years, he became a vocal critic of some of the deceptive techniques used within the PR industry. And yet it is Bernays himself who invented the quintessential tool of deceptive propaganda -- the "front group."
 
[[Edward Bernays]], who is generally regarded as the "father of public relations," liked to tell people, "What I do is propaganda, and I just hope it's not impropaganda." In his later years, he became a vocal critic of some of the deceptive techniques used within the PR industry. And yet it is Bernays himself who invented the quintessential tool of deceptive propaganda -- the "front group."
  
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Bernays stumbled on this strategy almost by accident. In 1913, while working as editor of the Medical Review of Reviews, a monthly magazine owned by a college acquaintance, he discovered that the then-famous actor Richard Bennett was interested in producing a play titled "Damaged Goods," which Bernays described as "a propaganda play that fought for sex education." It discussed sexual topics, such as prostitution, that were considered unusually frank for their day. Bennett was afraid that the play would be raided by police, and he hired Bernays to prevent this from happening. Rather than arguing for the play on its merits, Bernays cleverly organized a group that he called the "Medical Review of Reviews Sociological Fund," inviting prominent doctors and members of the social elite to join. The organization's avowed mission was to fight venereal disease through education. Its real purpose was to endorse "Damaged Goods," and apparently the plan worked. The show went on as scheduled, with no interference from police.
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Bernays stumbled on this strategy almost by accident. In 1913, while working as editor of the ''Medical Review of Reviews'', a monthly magazine owned by a college acquaintance, he discovered that the then-famous actor Richard Bennett was interested in producing a play titled "Damaged Goods," which Bernays described as "a propaganda play that fought for sex education." It discussed sexual topics, such as prostitution, that were considered unusually frank for their day. Bennett was afraid that the play would be raided by police, and he hired Bernays to prevent this from happening. Rather than arguing for the play on its merits, Bernays cleverly organized a group that he called the "Medical Review of Reviews Sociological Fund," inviting prominent doctors and members of the social elite to join. The organization's avowed mission was to fight venereal disease through education. Its real purpose was to endorse "Damaged Goods," and apparently the plan worked. The show went on as scheduled, with no interference from police.
  
 
"This was a pioneering move that is common today in the promotion of public causes--a prestigious sponsoring committee," notes PR industry historian [[Scott Cutlip]]. "In retrospect, given the history of public relations, it might be termed the first effort to use the front or third party technique." It was a technique that Bernays would return to time and again, calling it "the most useful method in a multiple society like ours to indicate the support of an idea of the many varied elements that make up our society. Opinion leaders and group leaders have an effect in a democracy and stand as symbols to their constituency." Bernays helped jump-start sales of bacon, a breakfast rarity until the 1920s, by enlisting a prominent doctor to solicit fellow doctors' opinions on the salutary benefits of a hearty breakfast and by arranging to have famous figures photographed eating breakfasts of bacon and eggs. To sell bananas on behalf of the United Fruit Company, he launched the "celiac project," republishing and disseminating a 20-year-old medical paper which found that eating bananas cured children with celiac disease, a disorder of the digestive system.
 
"This was a pioneering move that is common today in the promotion of public causes--a prestigious sponsoring committee," notes PR industry historian [[Scott Cutlip]]. "In retrospect, given the history of public relations, it might be termed the first effort to use the front or third party technique." It was a technique that Bernays would return to time and again, calling it "the most useful method in a multiple society like ours to indicate the support of an idea of the many varied elements that make up our society. Opinion leaders and group leaders have an effect in a democracy and stand as symbols to their constituency." Bernays helped jump-start sales of bacon, a breakfast rarity until the 1920s, by enlisting a prominent doctor to solicit fellow doctors' opinions on the salutary benefits of a hearty breakfast and by arranging to have famous figures photographed eating breakfasts of bacon and eggs. To sell bananas on behalf of the United Fruit Company, he launched the "celiac project," republishing and disseminating a 20-year-old medical paper which found that eating bananas cured children with celiac disease, a disorder of the digestive system.
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== Examples ==
 
== Examples ==
  
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For simplicity's sake, the list below includes some organizations (like the Tobacco Institute) that are not front groups per se but that engage in other deceptive activities.
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For simplicity's sake, the list below includes some organizations (like the Tobacco Institute) that are not front groups per se but that engage in other deceptive activities.  
 +
 
 +
(Some groups that have yet to be investigated are listed at [[Possible industry funded groups requiring investigation]]. If you would like to help document whether some of these groups belong in the list below, please feel free to start a profile on them.)
  
 
==International examples==
 
==International examples==
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*[[Alaska's Future]]
 
*[[Alaska's Future]]
 
*[[Alexis de Tocqueville Institution]]
 
*[[Alexis de Tocqueville Institution]]
 +
*[[Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy]]
 
*[[Alliance for Better Foods]]
 
*[[Alliance for Better Foods]]
 
*[[Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care]]
 
*[[Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care]]
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*[[American Beverage Institute]]
 
*[[American Beverage Institute]]
 
*[[American Council on Science and Health]]
 
*[[American Council on Science and Health]]
−
*[[American Forest Foundation]]
 
−
*[[American Forest Resource Alliance]]
 
 
*[[American Industrial Health Council]]
 
*[[American Industrial Health Council]]
 
*[[American Policy Center]]
 
*[[American Policy Center]]
 
*[[American Tort Reform Association]]
 
*[[American Tort Reform Association]]
 
*[[Americans for Balanced Energy Choices]]
 
*[[Americans for Balanced Energy Choices]]
 +
*[[Americans for Medical Progress]]
 
*[[Americans for Tax Reform]]
 
*[[Americans for Tax Reform]]
 +
*[[America's Power Army]]
 +
*[[America's Wetland Foundation]]
 +
*[[Animal Welfare Council]]
 
*[[A.N.S.W.E.R.]]
 
*[[A.N.S.W.E.R.]]
 
*[[Association for Competitive Technology]]
 
*[[Association for Competitive Technology]]
 
*[[Beverly Hills Restaurant Association]]
 
*[[Beverly Hills Restaurant Association]]
 
*[[Black America's PAC]]
 
*[[Black America's PAC]]
−
*[[Borrowsmart.org]]
 
 
*[[Business Tobacco Alliance]]
 
*[[Business Tobacco Alliance]]
 
*[[California Civil Rights Initiative]]
 
*[[California Civil Rights Initiative]]
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*[[Campaign for Working Families]]
 
*[[Campaign for Working Families]]
 
*[[Capital Research Center]]
 
*[[Capital Research Center]]
 +
*[[Center for Competitive Politics]]
 
*[[Center for Consumer Freedom]]
 
*[[Center for Consumer Freedom]]
−
*[[Center for Environmental Education Research]]
+
*[[Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy]]
−
*[[Center for Produce Quality]]
 
 
*[[Center for Union Facts]]
 
*[[Center for Union Facts]]
 
*[[Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise]]
 
*[[Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise]]
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*[[Citizens for a Sound Economy]]
 
*[[Citizens for a Sound Economy]]
 
*[[Citizens for Better Medicare]]
 
*[[Citizens for Better Medicare]]
 +
*[[Citizens for Recycling First]]
 
*[[Citizens for Sensible Control of Acid Rain]]
 
*[[Citizens for Sensible Control of Acid Rain]]
 
*[[Citizens for Sensible Energy Choices]]
 
*[[Citizens for Sensible Energy Choices]]
−
*[[Citizens for the Environment]]
 
 
*[[Clean and Safe Energy Coalition]]
 
*[[Clean and Safe Energy Coalition]]
 
*[[Clean Sites]]
 
*[[Clean Sites]]
−
*[[Climate Council]]
 
 
*[[Coalition for a Fair Judiciary]]
 
*[[Coalition for a Fair Judiciary]]
 
*[[Coalition for Asbestos Resolution]]
 
*[[Coalition for Asbestos Resolution]]
−
*[[Coalition for Equal Access to Medicines]]
 
 
*[[Coalition for Equal Rights]]
 
*[[Coalition for Equal Rights]]
−
*[[Coalition for Fair and Affordable Lending]]
 
 
*[[Coalition for Health Insurance Choices]]
 
*[[Coalition for Health Insurance Choices]]
−
*[[Coalition for Responsible Credit Practices]]
 
 
*[[Coalition for Responsible Healthcare Reform]]
 
*[[Coalition for Responsible Healthcare Reform]]
 +
*[[Coalition for Responsible Regulation]]
 
*[[Coalition for Southern Africa]]
 
*[[Coalition for Southern Africa]]
 
*[[Coalition for Vehicle Choice]]
 
*[[Coalition for Vehicle Choice]]
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*[[Community Financial Services Association of America]]
 
*[[Community Financial Services Association of America]]
 
*[[Competitive Enterprise Institute]]
 
*[[Competitive Enterprise Institute]]
−
*[[Congressional Human Rights Caucus]]
 
 
*[[Consumer Alert]]
 
*[[Consumer Alert]]
 
*[[Consumer Alliance for Energy Security]]
 
*[[Consumer Alliance for Energy Security]]
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*[[Consumer Distorts]]
 
*[[Consumer Distorts]]
 
*[[Consumer Federation of America]]
 
*[[Consumer Federation of America]]
 +
*[[Consumer Rights Coalition]]
 
*[[Consumers Alliance for Affordable Natural Gas]]
 
*[[Consumers Alliance for Affordable Natural Gas]]
 
*[[Consumers for World Trade]]
 
*[[Consumers for World Trade]]
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*[[Consumers' Research]]
 
*[[Consumers' Research]]
 
*[[Contributions Watch]]
 
*[[Contributions Watch]]
 +
*[[Copyright Alliance]]
 
*[[Council for Affordable Health Insurance]]
 
*[[Council for Affordable Health Insurance]]
−
*[[Council for Agricultural Science and Technology]]
 
 
*[[Council for Energy Independence]]
 
*[[Council for Energy Independence]]
 
*[[Council for Solid Waste Solutions]]
 
*[[Council for Solid Waste Solutions]]
 
*[[Council of American Muslims for Understanding]]
 
*[[Council of American Muslims for Understanding]]
−
*[[Council of National Policy]]
 
 
*[[Democracy Watch]]
 
*[[Democracy Watch]]
 
*[[Employment Policies Institute]]
 
*[[Employment Policies Institute]]
 
*[[Employment Roundtable]]
 
*[[Employment Roundtable]]
−
*[[Endangered Species Reform Coalition]]
+
*[[Energy Citizens]]
 +
*[[The Energy Initiative]]
 
*[[Energy Stewardship Alliance]]
 
*[[Energy Stewardship Alliance]]
 
*[[Environmental Issues Council]]
 
*[[Environmental Issues Council]]
 
*[[EPA Watch]]
 
*[[EPA Watch]]
−
*[[Fairlendingnow.org]]
+
*[[FACES of Coal]]
 
*[[Farmers for Clean Air and Water]]
 
*[[Farmers for Clean Air and Water]]
 
*[[Families Organized to Represent the Coal Economy]] FORCE
 
*[[Families Organized to Represent the Coal Economy]] FORCE
−
*[[Financial Services Roundtable]]
 
 
*[[Foundation for Clean Air Progress]]
 
*[[Foundation for Clean Air Progress]]
 
*[[Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment]]
 
*[[Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment]]
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*[[Heartland Institute]]
 
*[[Heartland Institute]]
 
*[[Hepatitis C Coalition]]
 
*[[Hepatitis C Coalition]]
 +
*[[Hezbollah Hejaz]]
 
*[[Independent Women's Forum]]
 
*[[Independent Women's Forum]]
−
*[[Information Council for the Environment]]
 
 
*[[Institute for Regulatory Policy]]
 
*[[Institute for Regulatory Policy]]
 
*[[International Freedom Foundation]]
 
*[[International Freedom Foundation]]
 
*[[International Food Information Council]]
 
*[[International Food Information Council]]
 +
*[[Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain]]
 
*[[JunkScience|JunkScience.com]]
 
*[[JunkScience|JunkScience.com]]
 
*[[Keep America Beautiful]]
 
*[[Keep America Beautiful]]
−
*[[Lake & Peninsula Business Development Center]]
 
 
*[[Landmark Legal Foundation]]
 
*[[Landmark Legal Foundation]]
 
*[[Leipzig Declaration on Global Climate Change]]
 
*[[Leipzig Declaration on Global Climate Change]]
−
*[[Maine Conservation Rights Institue]]
 
 
*[[Manhattan Institute for Policy Research]]
 
*[[Manhattan Institute for Policy Research]]
 
*[[Morton Blackwell Leadership Institute]]
 
*[[Morton Blackwell Leadership Institute]]
 
*[[Mountain States Legal Foundation]]
 
*[[Mountain States Legal Foundation]]
 +
*[[Mywireless.org]]
 +
*[[NAIA Trust]]
 +
*[[National Animal Interest Alliance]]
 
*[[National Anxiety Center]]
 
*[[National Anxiety Center]]
−
*[[National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders]]
 
−
*[[National Business Coalition on E-Commerce and Privacy]] [http://www.alston.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=casestudy&id=325]
 
−
* [[National Campaign To Stop Red Light Running]] [http://www.stopredlightrunning.com/]
 
 
*[[National Center for Genome Resources]]
 
*[[National Center for Genome Resources]]
 
*[[National Center for Policy Analysis]]
 
*[[National Center for Policy Analysis]]
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*[[National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition]]
 
*[[National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition]]
 
*[[National Endowment for Democracy]]
 
*[[National Endowment for Democracy]]
−
*[[National Environmental Policy Institute]]
 
−
*[[National Home Equity Mortgage Association]]
 
 
*[[National Journalism Center]]
 
*[[National Journalism Center]]
 +
*[[National Legal and Policy Center]]
 
*[[National Legal Center for the Public Interest]]
 
*[[National Legal Center for the Public Interest]]
 
*[[National Wetlands Coalition]]
 
*[[National Wetlands Coalition]]
 
*[[National Wilderness Institute]]
 
*[[National Wilderness Institute]]
−
*[[Nestlé Coordination Center for Nutrition]]
 
−
*[[Nicaraguan Freedom Fund]]
 
−
*[[No More Scares Campaign]]
 
 
*[[Non-Smoker Protection Committee]]
 
*[[Non-Smoker Protection Committee]]
 
*[[North American Coalition on Green Building]]
 
*[[North American Coalition on Green Building]]
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*[[Oregonians Against the Blank Check]]
 
*[[Oregonians Against the Blank Check]]
 
*[[Parents for Priorities]]
 
*[[Parents for Priorities]]
−
*[[Partnership to Protect Consumer Credit]]
 
 
*[[Political Economy Research Center]]
 
*[[Political Economy Research Center]]
 
*[[Progress & Freedom Foundation]]
 
*[[Progress & Freedom Foundation]]
−
*[[Project Evergreen]]
 
 
*[[Project Learning Tree]]
 
*[[Project Learning Tree]]
 
*[[Project Protect]]
 
*[[Project Protect]]
 
*[[Public Interest Watch]]
 
*[[Public Interest Watch]]
−
*[[Railwatch]]
 
 
*[[Reason Foundation]]
 
*[[Reason Foundation]]
−
*[[Regulatory Impact Analysis Project]]
+
*[[Regular Folks United]]
 
*[[Republicans for Clean Air]]
 
*[[Republicans for Clean Air]]
 
*[[Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment]]
 
*[[Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment]]
−
*[[Responsible Mortgage Lenders Coalition]]
 
 
*[[Save Our Species Alliance]]
 
*[[Save Our Species Alliance]]
−
*[[Science and Environmental Policy Institute]]
 
−
*[[Sea Lion Defense Fund]]
 
−
*[[Senior Coalition]]
 
 
*[[Shape the Debate]]
 
*[[Shape the Debate]]
−
*[[Silica Coalition]]
 
 
*[[Smart Growth Madison]]
 
*[[Smart Growth Madison]]
 
*[[Social Issues Research Centre]]
 
*[[Social Issues Research Centre]]
−
*[[Statement by Atmospheric Scientists on Global Warming]]
+
*[[Speaking of Research]]
 
*[[Statistical Assessment Service]]
 
*[[Statistical Assessment Service]]
 
*[[Susan B. Anthony List]]
 
*[[Susan B. Anthony List]]
 
*[[Teacher Choice]]
 
*[[Teacher Choice]]
−
*[[Temperate Forest Foundation]]
 
−
*[[The Energy Initiative]]
 
−
*[[Torches of Freedom Brigade]]
 
−
*[[United for Jobs]]
 
 
*[[United Seniors Association]]
 
*[[United Seniors Association]]
−
*[[Voters for Campaign Truth]]
+
*[[US Composting Council]]
−
*[[Washington Forest Protection Association]]
 
 
*[[Washington Legal Foundation]]
 
*[[Washington Legal Foundation]]
 
*[[Water Environment Federation]]
 
*[[Water Environment Federation]]
 
*[[Wise Use Movement]]
 
*[[Wise Use Movement]]
−
*[[Workplace Health & Safety Council]]
 
  
 
==Canadian Examples==
 
==Canadian Examples==
 
*[[Canadian Coalition for Responsible Environmental Solutions]]
 
*[[Canadian Coalition for Responsible Environmental Solutions]]
−
*[[Citizens Against Government Encroachment]]
+
*[[Wise Use Movement]]
 +
*[[International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development]]
  
 
== European & UK Examples ==
 
== European & UK Examples ==
−
 
 
*[[Agricultural Biotechnology Council]]
 
*[[Agricultural Biotechnology Council]]
 
*[[Associates for Research into the Science of Enjoyment]] (ARISE)
 
*[[Associates for Research into the Science of Enjoyment]] (ARISE)
−
*[[British Nutrition Foundation]]
+
*[[Consumers for Health Choice]]
 
*[[CropGen]]
 
*[[CropGen]]
−
*[[European Sound Climate Policy Coalition]]
 
 
*[[European Science and Environment Forum]]
 
*[[European Science and Environment Forum]]
 
*[[European Security Advocacy Group]]
 
*[[European Security Advocacy Group]]
 +
*[[Global Warming Policy Foundation]]
 
*[[IWMC World Conservation Trust]]
 
*[[IWMC World Conservation Trust]]
 
*[[Sense About Science]]
 
*[[Sense About Science]]
 
*[[Scientific Alliance]]
 
*[[Scientific Alliance]]
−
*[[World Conservation Trust Foundation]]
 
  
 
==Australian Examples==
 
==Australian Examples==
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* Mark Megalli and Andy Friedman, "[http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/mm0392.html#eco Fronting for Business]", ''Multinational Monitor'', March 1992.
 
* Mark Megalli and Andy Friedman, "[http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/mm0392.html#eco Fronting for Business]", ''Multinational Monitor'', March 1992.
 
*"[http://www.ncrp.org/reports/moving.htm Moving A Public Policy Agenda: The Strategic Philanthropy of Conservative Foundations]," National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, July 1997.
 
*"[http://www.ncrp.org/reports/moving.htm Moving A Public Policy Agenda: The Strategic Philanthropy of Conservative Foundations]," National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, July 1997.
 +
*[http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100453 Joe Conason and Murray Waas,] [http://www.observer.com/1998/gingrich-money-man-peter-smith-helped-david-brock-sock-clinton "Gingrich Money Man Helped Brock Sock Clinton,"] [http://www.observer.com/author/murray-waas/ ''New York Observer'',] March 28, 1998.
 
* Robert N. Mayer, "[http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/jacc/2007/00000030/00000001/art00008?crawler=true Winning the War of Words: The 'Front Group' Label in Contemporary Consumer Politics]", ''Journal of American & Comparative Cultures'', Blackwell Publishing, Volume 30, Number 1, March 2007 , pp. 96-109 (14). (This article is for sale at a cost of US$43.36 plus tax).
 
* Robert N. Mayer, "[http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/jacc/2007/00000030/00000001/art00008?crawler=true Winning the War of Words: The 'Front Group' Label in Contemporary Consumer Politics]", ''Journal of American & Comparative Cultures'', Blackwell Publishing, Volume 30, Number 1, March 2007 , pp. 96-109 (14). (This article is for sale at a cost of US$43.36 plus tax).
 
[[category:front groups]][[Category:Public relations case studies]]
 
[[category:front groups]][[Category:Public relations case studies]]
−
[[Category:Needs review]]
+
*Ryan Chuttum, [http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/reuters_is_excellent_in_diggin.php "Reuters is Excellent in Digging Up Insurer's Tactics,"] ''Columbia Journalism Review'', March 17, 2010

Latest revision as of 16:11, 25 December 2019

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This article is part of the Center for Media & Democracy's spotlight on front groups and corporate spin.

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This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

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A front group is an organization that purports to represent one agenda while in reality it serves some other party or interest whose sponsorship is hidden or rarely mentioned. The front group is perhaps the most easily recognized use of the third party technique. For example, Rick Berman's Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) claims that its mission is to defend the rights of consumers to choose to eat, drink and smoke as they please. In reality, CCF is a front group for the tobacco, restaurant and alcoholic beverage industries, which provide all or most of its funding.

Of course, not all organizations engaged in manipulative efforts to shape public opinion can be classified as "front groups." For example, the now-defunct Tobacco Institute was highly deceptive, but it didn't hide the fact that it represented the tobacco industry. There are also degrees of concealment. The Global Climate Coalition, for example, didn't hide the fact that its funding came from oil and coal companies, but nevertheless its name alone is sufficiently misleading that it can reasonably be considered a front group.

The shadowy way front groups operate makes it difficult to know whether a seemingly independent grassroots is actually representing some other entity. Thus, citizen smokers' rights groups and organizations of bartenders or restaurant workers working against smoking bans are sometimes characterized as front groups for the tobacco industry, but it is possible that some of these groups are self-initiated (although the tobacco industry has been known to use restaurant groups as fronts for its own interests).

Characteristics

A front group typically has some (but not necessarily all) of the following characteristics:

  • Avoids mentioning its main sources of funding. Note that this does not necessarily mean absolute concealment of sponsorship. Some front groups do indeed go to great lengths to conceal their origins, funders and personnel links to sponsors. However, the likelihood that these will be exposed anyway, with embarrassing consequences for a group's credibility, has led many companies and their sponsored organizations to opt for a strategy of selective disclosure, in which funders are mentioned in an annual report or other obscure publication, but are not mentioned in the organization's most common communications that reach the largest audience.
  • Is set up by and/or operated by another organization, (particularly a public relations, grassroots campaigning, polling or surveying firm or consultancy)
  • Engages in actions that consistently and conspicuously benefit a third party, such as a company, industry or political candidate;
  • Effectively shields a third party from liability/responsibility/culpability
  • Re-focuses debate about an issue onto a new or suspiciously unrelated topic, (e.g., secondhand smoke as a property rights issue)
  • Has a misleading name that disguises its real agenda, such as the National Wetlands Coalition, which opposed policies to protect U.S. wetlands, or Citizens for a Free Kuwait, which purported to represent U.S. citizens but was actually funded almost entirely by the royal family of Kuwait. Sometimes a front group's name might seem to suggest academic or political neutrality ("Consumers' Research," "American Policy Center"), while in fact it consistently turns out opinions, research, surveys, reports, polls and other declarations that benefit the interests of a company, industry or political candidate.
  • Has the same address or phone number as a sponsoring corporation, or a similar group that has since disbanded, or been forced out of business by exposure, lawsuits, etc.
  • Consists of a group of vocal, "esteemed" academic "experts" who go on national tours, put on media events, give press conferences, seminars, workshops, and give editorial board meetings around the country, etc., who ordinarily would not seem to have the budget or financial means to carry out such events
  • Touts repeatedly in communications that it is "independent," "esteemed," "credible" etc.
  • Has a custom-painted, luxury bus that goes on highly-publicized, national tours
  • Has remarkably low, if any, individual membership fees. (Front groups are typically in need of individual members to bolster their claims of being a "grassroots" organization. They need these individuals' representation more than their money -- since they are already well-funded by corporations -- so individual dues will typically be very low, perhaps $5 or $10, while group or corporate dues are much higher.)

An organization that only has a few of these characteristics may not be a true front group. For example, the tobacco industry has given funding to youth organizations such as the Jaycees and w:4-H clubs, which serves a public relations goal by helping the industry cultivate an image of corporate responsibility. This PR tactic is an example of the third party technique, and organizations that trade their reputations for corporate funding may be naive, gullible or opportunistic, but this in itself would not make them a front group.

History

Edward Bernays, who is generally regarded as the "father of public relations," liked to tell people, "What I do is propaganda, and I just hope it's not impropaganda." In his later years, he became a vocal critic of some of the deceptive techniques used within the PR industry. And yet it is Bernays himself who invented the quintessential tool of deceptive propaganda -- the "front group."

Bernays stumbled on this strategy almost by accident. In 1913, while working as editor of the Medical Review of Reviews, a monthly magazine owned by a college acquaintance, he discovered that the then-famous actor Richard Bennett was interested in producing a play titled "Damaged Goods," which Bernays described as "a propaganda play that fought for sex education." It discussed sexual topics, such as prostitution, that were considered unusually frank for their day. Bennett was afraid that the play would be raided by police, and he hired Bernays to prevent this from happening. Rather than arguing for the play on its merits, Bernays cleverly organized a group that he called the "Medical Review of Reviews Sociological Fund," inviting prominent doctors and members of the social elite to join. The organization's avowed mission was to fight venereal disease through education. Its real purpose was to endorse "Damaged Goods," and apparently the plan worked. The show went on as scheduled, with no interference from police.

"This was a pioneering move that is common today in the promotion of public causes--a prestigious sponsoring committee," notes PR industry historian Scott Cutlip. "In retrospect, given the history of public relations, it might be termed the first effort to use the front or third party technique." It was a technique that Bernays would return to time and again, calling it "the most useful method in a multiple society like ours to indicate the support of an idea of the many varied elements that make up our society. Opinion leaders and group leaders have an effect in a democracy and stand as symbols to their constituency." Bernays helped jump-start sales of bacon, a breakfast rarity until the 1920s, by enlisting a prominent doctor to solicit fellow doctors' opinions on the salutary benefits of a hearty breakfast and by arranging to have famous figures photographed eating breakfasts of bacon and eggs. To sell bananas on behalf of the United Fruit Company, he launched the "celiac project," republishing and disseminating a 20-year-old medical paper which found that eating bananas cured children with celiac disease, a disorder of the digestive system.

"Mr. Bernays has . . . created more institutes, funds, institutions, and foundations than Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Filene together," observed the Institute for Propaganda Analysis, a nonprofit educational organization that flourished in the years following World War I. "Typical of them was the Temperature Research Foundation. Its stated purpose was 'to disseminate impartial, scientific information concerning the latest developments in temperature control as they affect the health, leisure, happiness, and economy of the American people.' A minor purpose--so minor that rarely did Mr. Bernays remember even to mention it--was to boost the sales of Kelvinator refrigerators, air-condition units, and electric stoves."

Examples

For simplicity's sake, the list below includes some organizations (like the Tobacco Institute) that are not front groups per se but that engage in other deceptive activities.

(Some groups that have yet to be investigated are listed at Possible industry funded groups requiring investigation. If you would like to help document whether some of these groups belong in the list below, please feel free to start a profile on them.)

International examples

US examples

Canadian Examples

European & UK Examples

Australian Examples

See also

External links

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