For the past three years, we've been really clear about RealClear's Koch-funded climate disinformation, but apparently, that's just a tip of the grift-berg! According to new reporting from Nandini Jammi and Claire Atkin at Check My Ads, it appears that RealClear is also running some shady advertising schemes.
It's a complicated story, so you'll really have to go read it there, but here's the lede:
"At the end of 2022, The_Donald quietly started running ads.
The_Donald, a MAGA forum banned by Reddit for its role in organizing the January 6 riots, had not only found new life on its self-hosted website patriots(.)win, it was being financially propped up with ad revenue.
The question is: Who would do that? Who would be audacious enough to bring one of the most universally toxic websites in America into the advertising supply chain?"
Though there's not necessarily conclusive evidence, "All signs point to Anand Ramanujan, co-founder of Publir and the once longtime chief technical officer of RealClearPolitics, owned by Real Clear Holdings, LLC."
Check My Ads then presents evidence showing that "Anand is monetizing his own websites (both personally and through RealClearPolitics) on an ad network he owns, and expanding both businesses through monetizing undisclosed disinformation rings."
Those rings aren't just limited to climate disinfo, either, as the ad tech data shows Publir is "funneling money to The_Donald, where at least 20 forum accounts were linked to likely Russian state-backed disinformation actors, according to two separate reports by network analysis firm Graphika and cybersecurity research group Recorded Future."
From there things get really technical, with json files and dark pools, and, we really can't do it justice here, so go check out Claire and Nandini's incredible findings!