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<div id="mainpage"></div><!--------------------------------Welcome to SourceWatch------------------------------->{| style="border-spacing:8px; margin:-8px -8px;"|style="width:100%; border:1px solid #a7c1e3; background:#a7c1e3; vertical-align:top; color:#a7c1e3;"|{| cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top; background:#a7c1e3; color:#a7c1e3"! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#2966B8; font-size:160%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #2966B8; text-align:left; color:#FFF; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Welcome to SourceWatch, a project of the Center for Media and Democracy!</h2>|-|style="color:#000; padding: 0 0.5em 0 0.5em;"| The '''Center for Media and Democracy''' publishes '''SourceWatch''', this collaborative resource for citizens and journalists looking for documented information about the corporations, industries, and people trying to influence public policy and public opinion. We believe in telling the truth about the most powerful interests in society—not just relating their self-serving press releases or letting real facts be bleached away by spin. With the help of volunteer editors, SourceWatch focuses on the for-profit corporations, non-profit corporate [[front groups]], PR teams, and [[industry-friendly experts|so-called "experts"]] trying to influence public opinion on behalf of global corporations and the government agencies they have captured. Please check out our other sites: [http://www.prwatch.org PRWatch], [http://www.BanksterUSA.org BanksterUSA], and [http://www.ALECexposed.org ALECexposed]. —Lisa Graves, Executive Director<br>'''<big><i><span class="plainlinks">[https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/632/t/11777/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=6324 P.S. To make a tax-deductible donation to keep this information online and strong, please donate now.]</span></i></big>''' <br><small><i><span class="plainlinks">[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&type=signup To protect our site, we have also instituted a new registration procedure for editors.]</span></i></small> |}|}<!---------------------------Begin left column----------------------MAIN PAGE LAYOUT -->{| style="border-spacing:8px; margin:0px -8px;"|style="width:49%; border:1px solid #c9d7f0; background:#FFFFFF; vertical-align:top; color:#000;"|{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top; background:#FFFFFF;"<!---------------------------Featured Work------------------------>|-! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#2966B8; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #435c7a; text-align:left; color:#FFF; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Featured Work</h2>|-|style="color:#000;"|[[Image:AAtrex Belt Buckle.png|250px|left]]<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/11277 Syngenta PR’s Weed- Killer Spin Machine: Investigating the Press and Shaping the "News" about Atrazine]</h3>'''By [http://www.prwatch.org/users/35302/beau-hodai Beau Hodai] and [[Lisa Graves]]'''Documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy, recently unsealed as part of a major lawsuit against [[Syngenta]], reveal how the global chemical company's PR team investigated the press and spent millions to spin news coverage and public perceptions in the face of growing concerns about potential health risks from the widely used weed-killer "[[atrazine]]." Two years ago, on March 2, 2010, ''Huffington Post Investigative Fund'' (''HuffPo'') reporter Danielle Ivory contacted Syngenta Corporation Director of Corporate Communications-North America Paul Minehart and asked, as reporters do, a few questions. Little did she know her questions to Syngenta would provoke the creation of a secret dossier on her. Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/11277 here].--------[[Image:Bull in a China Shop.jpg|frame|'Cracked Matador' (Source: Chris Dunn (chris-dunn.co.uk))|left|200px]]<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/11263 Atrazine: A "Molecular Bull in a China Shop"]</h3>by [http://www.prwatch.org/users/35294/rebekah-wilce Rebekah Wilce]<br>Atrazine is an herbicide primarily manufactured by the multinational conglomerate [[Syngenta]] and commonly [http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/atrazine.htm#whatis used on commodity crops, forests, and golf courses]. Its potential harmful effects on human health have been documented since the 1990s.<br>As a consequence, atrazine has been “[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&amp;lg=EN&amp;numdoc=32004D0248&amp;model=guichett unauthorized]” in the European Union since 2004 (and in some European countries since 1991). However, it is one of the [http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/atrazine.htm#whereis most heavily used herbicides in the United States]. Syngenta, atrazine’s primary manufacturer, has spent hundreds of millions combined on marketing, public relations (PR) campaigns, and lobbying to maintain its market and fight calls to phase the product out of use in the U.S. Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/11263 here].--------[[Image:Money in Politics.jpg|left|250px]]<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/11278 The Super Nonprofits Influencing Elections, Under the Radar]</h3>by [http://www.prwatch.org/users/35275/brendan-fischer Brendan Fischer]<br>While the popular understanding of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision is that it opened the door to unlimited corporate spending, last week's FEC filings showed that many of the millions that Super PACs received in 2011 came not from corporations, but from deep-pocketed individuals and corporate CEOs. What remains unknown is just how much corporate money is secretly flowing through another vehicle being used to influence political outcomes, the 501(c)(4) nonprofit.<br>Notably, the Tea Party-affiliated [[FreedomWorks]] Super PAC received more than $1.3 million in contributions from its associated 501(c)(4). Under current law, the FreedomWorks (c)(4) is not required to disclose its donors to the public—unlike a Super PAC— suggesting one way that corporate donors can disguise their political spending. Read the rest of the item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/11278 here].--------[[Image:WI protest altered.jpg|250px|left]]<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/11281 Chrysler’s New Super Bowl Ad Whitewashes WI Union Signs]</h3>by [http://www.prwatch.org/users/35270/mary-bottari Mary Bottari]<br>Wisconsin made a brief, unexpected appearance at the Super Bowl yesterday. A new ad by Chrysler, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/super-bowl-commercials-2012-clint-eastwood-chrysler_n_1255352.html “It’s Half Time in America,”] voiced by Clint Eastwood, included a short clip of the historic Wisconsin protests from February 2011. Recognizing the shot, Wisconsinites went wild on Facebook and Twitter. But what the cheeseheads quickly started to realize is that they did not recognize the protest signs in the shot. Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/11281 here.]-----<!---------------------------Recent articles from the Center for Media and Democracy------------------------>|-! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#2966B8; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #7ba06d; text-align:left; color:#FFF; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Recent Articles from PRWatch.org</h2>|-|style="color:#000;"| -----------[[Image:Stella-artois.jpg|left|200px]]<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/11228 Lobbying Firm Caught Editing Wikipedia Article on Beer Brand]</h3>by [[Anne Landman]]<br> [[Anheuser-Busch]]'s United Kingdom division, InBev, employed a lobbying firm to edit the Wikipedia entry about its Stella Artois brand of lager to delete a negative reference to the brand. Portland Communications, a lobbying firm run by a former adviser to Tony Blair, deleted the term "wife-beater" from the Wikipedia article about Stella Artois, reportedly to "challenge any connections between the brand and domestic violence." Stella Artois, one of the biggest brands of lager in the UK, in recent years has earned the nickname "wife beater" because of its high alcohol content and apparent popularity among rowdy soccer players. The changes on Wikipedia were made by a user named Portlander10, who had an IP address traceable to Portland Communications. Portland maintains that the changes were made openly and within Wikipedia's rules. In the wake of this revelation, though, a meeting has been scheduled between the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and Wikipedia to give PR professionals guidance for working on Wikipedia, and to develop a code of conduct for PR professionals to help minimize attempts to mask the true identity of PR pros seeking to edit the site.-------{{#evp:youtube|UEyp5cmQmv4|Wisconsin Rising, by Sam Mayfield|left|250}} <h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/11240 Filmmaker Seeks Support for "Wisconsin Rising" Film]</h3>by Sara Jerving<br> Hundreds of thousands of people surrounded the Wisconsin State Capitol building a year ago in response and protest of Governor Scott Walker's radical agenda, including his proposed "budget repair bill" to balance the budget on the back of state workers. There to document history in the making, was independent filmmaker Sam Mayfield from Burlington, Vermont. Sam was seen everywhere with her high definition camcorder, at Walker press conferences and climbing though Capitol windows with protesters. In the many months she was in Wisconsin, she obtained hundreds of hours of footage -- often at moments when hers was the only camera present. But in order to turn her footage into a feature-length documentary, Mayfield needs financial support. She has launched a "kickstarter campaign" to raise $40,000 of the $200,000 needed to complete the film. Kickstarter is an online funding tool for creative projects. If she does not receive that full amount in pledges by January 21, she won't receive any of the funding. As the anniversary of the Wisconsin uprising approaches, Mayfield is seeking support to kickstart her project. You can see her trailer and make pledges to support "Wisconsin Rising" by clicking [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/385001342/wisconsin-rising here] to access the kickstarter [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/385001342/wisconsin-rising website.]  <!---------------------------More from SourceWatch------------------------>|------------<!---------------------------Popular articles over the last week------------------------>|-! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#2966B8; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #435c7a; text-align:left; color:#FFF; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Popular SourceWatch Articles</h2>|-|style="color:#000;"|  SourceWatch's home page is the top landing page in this website. Here are some of the other hot pages:* our article on [[Recess appointments made by President George W. Bush]]* our article on [[Existing U.S. Coal Plants]]* our article on [[ALEC Corporations]],* our article on the [[ALEC Politicians]], and* our article on [[Fracking]] |-|}<!----------------------------------Begin right column------------------------------->|style="width:45%; border:1px solid #c9d7f0; background:#FFFFFF; vertical-align:top"|{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top; background:#FFFFFF;" <!---------------------------Editors' Pick of the Week------------------------>|-! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#2966B8; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #435c7a; text-align:left; color:#FFF; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Editors' Pick of the Week</h2>|-|style="color:#000;"|[[Image:Joe Mohr Puppet Cartoon.jpg|left|250px]] <h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/11276 Syngenta's Paid Third Party Pundits Spin the "News" on Atrazine]</h3>by [http://www.prwatch.org/users/35298/sara-jerving Sara Jerving]<br>Documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy, recently unsealed as part of a major lawsuit against [[Syngenta]], reveal that the global chemical company's PR team had a multi-million dollar budget to pay surrogates and others who helped advance its messages about the weed-killer "atrazine." This story is part two of a series about Syngenta's PR campaign to influence the media, potential jurors, potential plaintiffs, farmers, politicians, scientists, and the [[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) in the midst of reviews of the weed-killer's potential to act as an endocrine disruptor.<br>These documents reveal a string of money going from Syngenta to pundits, economists, scientists, and others. Below is a sample of some of the "third party" surrogates who have been financially supported by Syngenta. Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/11276 here].-----[[Image:CitiBankPhoto.jpg|frame|left|CitiBank, New York City]]<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/11254 Scott Walker’s Plutonomy: An Economy for the One Percent] </h3>by [[Mary Bottari]]<br>'While volunteer after volunteer from each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPPVbGMxLH4 marched] into the state’s election board to deposit over one million signatures for the recall of Wisconsin Governor [[Scott Walker]], Walker was no where to be found. At the hour petitions were being deposited on January 17, Mother Jones revealed that Walker was [http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/01/scott-walker-recall-new-york-fundraiser scheduled to attend] a high-dollar fundraiser in the heart of the New York’s financial district at 339 Park Avenue -- the towering headquarters for global financial giant [[Citigroup]]. The $5,000 per couple fundraiser was hosted by none other than [[Maurice R. Greenberg|Maurice "Hank" Greenberg]], former CEO of [[AIG]]. Walker’s choice to be on Wall Street the day of the recall filing is so astounding, for many it goes far beyond the notion of a tin ear. "Walker could not have sent a clearer signal to Wall Street, that he is on the side of the 1 percent ready to do their bidding and take the heat," said Scot Ross of the Wisconsin group, One Wisconsin Now. Ross points to the [http://walkerfailure.com/ data his group compiled] to support his claim that Walker is constructing an economy that only the 1 percent could love. Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/11254 here].-----[[Image:BoA_take_action_block_200pxsq_flat.jpg‎|160px|left]]<h3>[http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/632/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8910 Tell President Obama to Break Up Bank of America!]</h3>by [[Mary Bottari]]<br>Something reeks at Bank of America. This behemoth bank has assets equivalent to 15% of our entire economy. So why are its shares trading in the $5 range? Because BofA is a zombie bank. And now this zombie is trying to move $22 trillion in dangerous derivatives from one division into its FDIC-insured division. Tell President Obama, no more bailouts! Break up Bank of America before it breaks us. '''Sign the petition [http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/632/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8910 here.]'''<!---------------------------Take Action------------------------>|-! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#2966B8; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #435c7a; text-align:left; color:#FFFFFF; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Take Action</h2>|-|style="color:#000;"| [[Image:Rich-people1.jpg‎|170px|right]]<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/11113 Who Are the 1%? You Decide]</h3><br>A new project by filmmaker [[Robert Greenwald|Robert Greenwald's]] Brave New Foundation aims to shine a spotlight on the 1 percent, the wealthiest Americans who manipulate our democracy for their own private benefit. According to Greenwald: "We will highlight the villains in America's economic story, drawing a straight line between their actions and the broken economy we're now stuck with." The fun part is that you get a vote on who the filmaker should profile. The project, "Who are the 1%? We Film. You Decide," asks people to go to the [http://www.bravenewfoundation.org/whoarethe1percent/ Brave New Foundation's website] and nominate their favorite one-percenters. The Foundation will then make videos about the selected nominees. Center for Media and Democracy is a partner in the project, which was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement. Other partners include AlterNet, TruthOut, The Nation, PoliticsUSA, Care2 Make a Difference, Free Speech TV, the Thom Hartmann program, The Young Turks and the Campaign for America's Future. Whom to choose? Jamie Dimon, David Koch, Lloyd Blankfein? There is no shortage of candidates. Nominate your favorite [http://www.bravenewfoundation.org/whoarethe1percent/ here.]<br><br>Subscribe to our free email newsletter, [http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html The Spin], "Like" us on [http://www.facebook.com/CenterforMediaandDemocracy Facebook] and follow us on Twitter at [http://twitter.com/#!/prwatch @PRwatch] and [http://twitter.com/#!/ALECexposed @ALECexposed]." If you would like to help in other ways, please take a look at some of our [[SourceWatch/Archived Citizen Editor Projects|earlier citizen journalism projects here]].

<!---------------------------In the news----------------------INTRO PARAGRAPH -->|-! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#2966B8; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #7ba06d; textvertical-align:lefttop; color:#FFF; padding:0.2em 0.4em000000;">Featured Video</h2>|-|style="color:#000" | <div align="center"> {{#evp:youtube|OWMp-NadlTFIA|Spoof of the front group "Energy Citizens" 2012 "I Vote" ad campaign promoting drilling for oil and gas|center|400Intro}}</div>|-

<!--------------------------------Getting started-----------------------------MAIN CONTENT -->{| style="border-spacing:8px; margin:-8px -8px;"|style="width:100%; bordermargin:1px solid #4985D64px 0 0 0; background:#4985G6none; verticalborder-align:top; colorspacing:#FFF0px;"|{| cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top; background:#FFFFFF; color:#000"! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#CC0000; font-sizewidth:12050%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #afa3bfc9d7f0; text-align:left; colorbackground:#FFFffffff; paddingvertical-align:0.2em 0.4emtop;">Getting Started on SourceWatch</h2>|-|style="color:#000; padding: 0 0.5em 0 0.5em;"| <h3><span style="color:#2977B8;text-docoration:none;">Looking for somewhere to start?</span></h3>You can read any SourceWatch article without registering, but if you would like to improve our articles or add new ones, you need to <span class="plainlinks">[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&type=signup register here.]</span> You will be asked to provide an email address to verify that you are a real person and not a computer spamming links to other sites, but your email address will not be shown publicly on your user page. You will also be asked to create a user name, which can be your own name or a pen name. And, if you'd like, you can edit your user page to let readers know more about yourself, your work on SourceWatch, and your research interests--but that is not required. Once you are registered, you will also be able to contact other editors through their user pages. If you do not wish to register but do want to contact us, you can use the addresses at the bottom of this page.

<b!-- PR WATCH ARTICLES --><span style="color:#2977B8;text{{Mp-docoration:none;">Thank you, in advance, for helping to make SourceWatch even stronger!</span></b> PRW Articles}}

|-|}|}|}<!---------------------------What they're saying about SourceWatch----------------------POPULAR SOURCEWATCH ARTICLES -->{| style="border-spacing:8px; margin:-8px -8px;"|style="width:100%; border:1px solid #a7c1e3; background:#a7c1e3; vertical-align:top; color:#FFF;"|{| cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="verticalMp-align:top; background:#a7c1e3; color:#FFF"! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#2966B8; font-size:160%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #2966B8; text-align:left; color:#FFF; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Praise for SourceWatch!</h2>|-|style="color:#000; padding: 0 0.5em 0 0.5em;"| <big><b>Here's what they're saying about SourceWatch:</big><br><br>"The folks at the Center for Media and Democracy have done incredible work documenting <span style="color:#2977B8;text-docoration:none;">[[Portal:Front groups|fake grassroots ("astroturf") groups]]</span>. Here, they're helping protect the rights of all Americans to exercise their <span style="color:#2977B8;text-docoration:none;">[[Portal:Election Protection Wiki|right to vote]]</span>. They are completely non-partisan. These guys are the real deal."<br>&mdash;<span style="color:#2977B8;text-docoration:none;">[[Craig Newmark]], Craig's List</span>Popular SW Articles}}

| style="A truly impressive project based on cutting edge web technology."<br>&mdashborder:1px solid transparent;<span class="plainlinks">[http://www.davidkorten.org/index.htm David Korten,]</span> author of ''When Corporations Rule the World'' and ''The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community''.|

"The troublemakers at the Center for Media and Democracy, for example, point to dozens of examples of "[[greenwashing]]," which they defined as the "unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue by a company, an industry, a government or even a non<!--government organization to sell a product, a policy" or rehabilitate an image. In the centerEDITORS's view, many enterprises labeled green don't deserve the name.<brPICK OF THE WEEK -->&mdash;Jack Shafer, "<span class| style="plainlinks">[httpwidth:50%; border:1px solid #c9d7f0; background://www.slate.com/id/2169863/ Green Is the New Yellow#FFF; vertical-align: On the excesses of 'green' journalism,]</span>top;" |{{Mp-Editors''Slate''.Pick}}

"As a journalist frequently on the receiving end of various PR campaigns, some of them based on disinformation, others front groups for undisclosed interests, [CMD's SourceWatch] is an invaluable resource."<br!-- TAKE ACTION -->&mdash;<span style="color:#2977B8;text{{Mp-docoration:none;">[[Michael Pollan]], author of ''The Botany of Desire''</span>Take Action}}

"Thanks for all your help. There's no way I could have done my piece on big PR and global warming without the CMD [Center for Media and Democracy] and your fabulous websites."<br!-- FEATURED VIDEO -->&mdash;Zoe Cormier, journalist, Canada{{Mp-Featured Video}}

"The dearth of information on the [U.S.] government [lobbying] disclosure forms about the other business<!-- GETTING STARTED --backed coalitions comes in stark contrast to the data about them culled from media reports, websites, press releases and Internal Revenue Service documents and posted by SourceWatch, a website that tracks advocacy groups."<br>&mdash;Jeanne Cummings, <span class="plainlinks">[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9929.html 'New disclosure reports lack clarity,"]</span> ''Politico''.</b>{{Mp-Getting Started}}

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