Who’s Behind Media Matters?

The quiet force of DNC operatives

On Monday, an organization called Media Matters for America published an article entitled, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s super PAC is paying thousands of dollars to a fringe outlet that posts anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ, and election denial content.” 

Written by Senior Investigative Reporter Eric Hananoki, the article attacks super PAC American Values 2024 and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a $6,500 advertising buy with Creative Destruction Media—an organization Media Matters describes as a “right-wing outlet” that “promotes bigotry and conspiracy theories.” 

American Values 2024 is the PAC that publishes The Kennedy Beacon. Therefore, the Media Matters article caught our attention. The ad buys, of which there were three, were made in order to announce Kennedy’s presidential run — news we hope is of interest to all voting Americans. Why the hit piece against us, and who’s behind Media Matters? Could it be an instrument of the same Democratic National Committee elites who denied Kennedy’s request for Secret Service protection, and are actively trying to block him from participating in Democratic party primaries? Is what happened to Bernie Sanders now happening to Kennedy?

As publicly disclosed in American Values 2024’s filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the ad buy with Creative Destructive Media accounts for a very small amount (2.87%) of the PAC’s independent expenditures thus far ($226,782.74). That money has been spent on a diverse and strategic portfolio of advertising designed to reach likely voters open to a Democratic candidate other than President Joe Biden. American Values has made far more substantial ad purchases with larger outlets which managed to avoid Hananoki’s criticism, including USA Today, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Post.

But Creative Destructive Media (CDM) is an easier target. It is a co-plaintiff alongside Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense (CHD) and several others in a lawsuit against a number of major news outlets for allegedly colluding with the federal government to censor information related to COVID-19 and election integrity through the so-called Trusted News Initiative (TNI). While Kennedy’s concerns over America’s COVID-19 response were subject to TNI suppression, CDM faced censorship for its coverage of the 2020 election and corruption in the Biden family. However, as Hananoki points out, CDM’s affiliates have also published articles that discuss sensitive issues (such as civil rights, immigration, transgenderism/sexuality, the Ukraine war, election integrity and mass shootings) in ways with which many Americans would certainly disagree.

And, indeed, this author does not agree with everything published by CDM or its affiliated websites. Based on Kennedy’s platform, neither does the candidate. Racism is not part of our vocabulary, nor is it part of American Values 2024’s. And CDM’s publisher, L. Todd Wood, believes he’s been misrepresented—as he makes clear in his response to the Media Matters’ article, published on Tuesday.

It is perfectly acceptable to disagree with the policies of a political candidate; in fact, that is to be expected. But given Hananoki’s accusations against Kennedy and his allies of antisemitism, racism and transphobia (as well as endorsing anti-immigrant, anti-Democratic and anti-American values), we were compelled to investigate Media Matters.

Media Matters is a non-profit founded in 2004 by David Brock, described by TIME as “one of the most influential operatives in the Democratic Party.” It was intended to serve as a watchdog of conservative media, working to “correct erroneous assertions in real time.” While not strictly a ‘fact-checking’ website, Media Matters devotes nearly all of its time to monitoring mainstream and social media for statements or positions that it can debunk, such as those made by President Trump on COVID-19 that it deemed “misinformation.”

The organization was set up with help from the Center for American Progress, a policy think tank led by John Podesta, former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton. In addition to hosting Media Matters in CAP’s offices, Podesta leveraged his networks to help Brock raise “more than $2 million in donations from wealthy liberals” to fund its launch, including from a number of people close to Hillary Clinton. A highly controversial figure, Podesta would go on to serve in senior advisory positions for Presidents Obama and Biden, as well as Campaign Chair for Hillary Clinton.

Byron York of the National Review described the organization as part of a “constellation of groups” that had “come together on the left… all aimed at electing a Democratic president” in the 2004 presidential election. That “constellation” also included George Soros-funded liberal political action committees America Coming Together and MoveOn.org, both heavily focused on getting Democratic nominee John Kerry into the White House. Kerry later served as Obama’s Secretary of State, and is currently serving as the inaugural “U.S. special presidential envoy for climate” for Biden.

Media Matters’ ties to the Clinton political dynasty go deep. Hillary Clinton herself claimed in an August 2007 speech that she “helped start and support” Media Matters and its initial supporter, the Center for American Progress. Sidney Blumenthal, former Bill Clinton aide and Clinton Foundation employee, served as a paid consultant for Media Matters. The New York Times described Media Matters as having “helped lay the groundwork” for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

Beyond the Clintons, Brock and Media Matters played an active role in supporting Obama during both of his presidential campaigns. After Hillary Clinton failed to secure the nomination in 2008, Brock turned his attention toward then-Senator Obama, holding at least two fundraisers that brought in $50,000 for the candidate. 

Brock doubled down for the 2012 election. In November 2010, he founded American Bridge 21st Century, a super PAC. As reported by the New York Times at the time, “Mr. Brock appears to be positioning his new organization so that fund-raising consultants can raise money for Democratic-oriented media efforts not just through American Bridge but also via one of the nonprofit organizations Mr. Brock currently runs, Media Matters Action Network, which does not disclose its donors.” The two organizations worked in tandem in order to “take on an expanded role in the 2012 elections.”

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the eldest sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., served as founding chair of American Bridge 21st Century. While this may be surprising to some, it is consistent with the reality that not all RFK Jr’s family members agree with his politics and positions. In May 2019, Townsend co-authored an article in Politico entitled, “RFK Jr. Is Our Brother and Uncle. He’s Tragically Wrong About Vaccines,” along with Joseph P. Kennedy II and Maeve Kennedy McKean. Many members of the Kennedy family opted not to support his campaign for president, with several expressing opposition to his often-misrepresented statements about COVID-19’s disproportionate effect on various ethnic groups. Townsend served as chair of the American Bridge super PAC until 2015. It’s unclear what, if any, knowledge she had of Monday’s hit piece. 

Also not immediately clear is who funds Media Matters, given its policy not to publicly disclose donors. Nevertheless, some of this information has been disclosed from other sources over the years, and it’s a who’s-who of liberal mega donors. A prominent example is George Soros, who first publicly disclosed his contributions in 2010 after years of denying involvement with Media Matters. Its initial $2 million in 2004 was routed through the liberal Tides Foundation. 

A significant portion of Media Matters’ funding has come from members of the Democracy Alliance, described by conservative attorney Mark Holden as “orchestrat[ing] the activities of a permanent ‘left infrastructure.’” The alliance was founded in 2004 by the late Rob Stein, a former official in the Bill Clinton administration.

We can reasonably conclude why Media Matters would publish such a vitriolic, misleading article about Kennedy. From its inception to today, its stated purpose has been to engage in information warfare, rapidly countering ideas it opposes. While this has been almost exclusively focused on Republicans (starting with George W. Bush), Media Matters has now expanded its mission to attacking a fellow Democrat, Kennedy.

It’s also worth noting that after Bush defeated John Kerry in 2004, many Democrats refused to accept the outcome and accused him of stealing the election, following a similar controversy in 2001. 

Given Media Matters’ ties with the Clinton and Obama political empire, it appears part of a predictable play book: slandering the only major candidate challenging their current man in office, President Biden. 

Why does the DNC machine want to attack Kennedy? Several of his key positions differ from and challenge theirs. Soros is a vocal proponent of “open borders,” providing political motivation for Media Matters to falsely paint Kennedy as a bigoted, “closed-border” candidate. He, decidedly, is not that. 

Soros is also a member of the aforementioned Democracy Alliance, along with billionaire Biden ally, Tom Steyer, as well as Chris Hughes, another Facebook co-founder. The Tides Foundation, Media Matters’ first charitable partner, is a powerful donor to many NGOs including the CDC Foundation. It has received grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (where Dr. Anthony Fauci serves as a trustee). Based on this cursory analysis, it’s clear these powerful individuals and groups would be threatened by a Kennedy presidency. 

While The Kennedy Beacon has only scratched the surface of who’s behind Media Matters for America, I hope this article helps give readers a sense of the subtle yet palpable ways the DNC and its supporters are resisting and will continue to resist Kennedy’s presidential run.