Information warfare is real. Guard your mind.
It may seem rudimentary to this audience, but checking the sponsors, funders, partners, and supporters of the news sites you read is a great way to determine what filter you should use to read the publication.
All news sites require a discernment filter since I can’t name a single one that is truly down-the-middle, straight reporting. You know, answering the who, what, when, where, why, and how, and leaving the biased remarks on the op-ed page?
I recently came across a post on Telegram where a person I follow regularly discovered a leftist organization that created a network of state news sites.
I checked out the Influence Watch link to see if any Massachusetts newspapers or new sites were listed and found none. I next went to the States Newsroom site, and lo and behold:
To double-check, I went to the CommonWealth Beacon site, which confirmed the partnership:
CommonWealth Magazine announced a reorganization and rebranding in 2023:
“Today, the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC) announced the rebranding of Commonwealth Magazine, a reliable source of quality policy-oriented journalism for more than 25 years in Massachusetts. Now transformed into CommonWealth Beacon, the nonprofit civic news organization maintains the same goal of providing the public with independent, non-partisan original reporting on state government, public policy and politics in Massachusetts, but with new features and fresh content to drive continued reader and civic engagement, as well as respond to current trends in local news.”
Their “support” from States Newsroom is not mentioned in the announcement.
I will leave the reader to look into the two major funders of States Newsroom, Hopewell Fund, and North Fund, both part of the multi-billion-dollar nonprofit network created and administered by Arabella Advisors. If you’ve never heard of Arabella Advisors, here’s a quick summary from (non-right-wing source) Wikipedia:
“Arabella Advisors is a Washington, D.C.-based for-profit consulting company that advises left-leaning donors and nonprofits about where to give money and serves as the hub of a politically liberal “dark money” network.[2] It was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler.[2] The Arabella network spent nearly $1.2 billion in 2020 and raised $1.6 billion that same year.[3][4] In 2022, Arabella raised $1.3 billion and spent $900 million.[5]”
CommonWealth Beacon may aim to provide “independent, non-partisan original reporting,” but like politicians who accept lobbying money and perks, its editorial decisions are most likely heavily affected by the will of its financial supporters. Those decisions will, like a virus, filter into every local community news site.
“Mohl [15-year editor for Commonwealth] also expressed a commitment to building the overall news ecosystem. “We intend to give our content away to other news outlets in Massachusetts to help strengthen local news coverage across the state,” said Mohl. “In the lifeboat of local journalism, no one is a competitor and everyone is a potential collaborator.”
And from Dan Kennedy, Advisory Committee member and professor of Journalism, Northeastern University:
“Moreover, by offering its coverage to community news outlets in Massachusetts, CommonWealth Beacon will fill a gap and help readers of these outlets make the connection between purely local issues and the broader state landscape.”
Who knows how many other local and state news organizations have similar funding models? Whether you are reading your local newspaper in print or online, it is vital to be aware of the entities aiming to influence your mind.
By Citizens for Truth Contributor
Massachusetts First 
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