Seven foundations and wealthy donors gave Islamophobic groups $42.6M from 2001 through 2009, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress.
“Sometimes the money flowing from these foundations and their donors is clearly designed to promote Islamophobia, but more often the support provided is for general purpose use, which the think tanks and grassroots organizations then put to use on their primary purpose — spreading their messages of hate and fear as far and wide as they can,” the report says.
“It is possible that some of these donors and foundations, who spend millions improving child health and creating a more equal society, have no knowledge of the hateful and inaccurate propaganda generated with their money,” the report says.
The list of donors, as compiled by CAP:
- Donors Capital Fund
- Richard Mellon Scaife foundations
- Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
- Newton D. & Rochelle F. Becker foundations and charitable trust
- Russell Berrie Foundation
- Anchorage Charitable Fund and William Rosenwald Family Fund
- Fairbrook Foundation
Donors Capital Trust is best known for giving more than $17 million to the Clarion Fund in 2008, money that helped send 30 million DVDs of an anti-Islam film across the country during the 2008 election.
The report highlights the work of five “misinformation experts”: Frank Gaffney at the Center for Security Policy, David Yerushalmi at the Society of Americans for National Existence, Daniel Pipes at the Middle East Forum, Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch and Stop Islamization of America and Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
Read the full report here.
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