Center for Media and Democracy

Center for Media and Democracy CMD is a national watchdog group that conducts in-depth investigations into corruption and the undue influence of corporations on media and democracy.

The Center for Media and Democracy is a national watchdog group that conducts in-depth investigations into corruption and the undue influence of corporations on media and democracy. The findings of CMD's investigative journalism are regularly cited by the leading national and state newspapers in the U.S., including the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Washington Post. CMD's reporting is credi

ted by news shows on major broadcast stations including HBO, Showtime, PBS, NBC, CBS, and others, and has also been featured on in-depth news programs, such as Moyers & Company, and Democracy Now, as well as NPR and other public broadcasting agencies, such as the BBC and CBC. CMD's breakthrough investigations of the Koch Brothers, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its American City County Exchange (ACCE), the State Policy Network (SPN), and numerous corporations and corporate-front groups have sparked national debate and ignited waves of related reporting by other journalists in numerous outlets and in leading national magazines. CMD's reporting has also built on excellent investigative reports in magazines like the New Yorker, Mother Jones, and more. CMD also publishes the online news journals, ExposedbyCMD and PRWatch; a specialized encyclopedia about corporations, their CEOs, and corporate-funded and right-wing front groups, SourceWatch.org; a clearinghouse for news about ALEC and its award-winning investigation, ALECexposed.org; and other specialized investigative websites. CMD focuses on documenting key facts and revealing the impact of policies on ordinary people, not on what some PR spokesperson claims is true. With the cuts to newsrooms across the country, CMD's original and in-depth investigations are more important than ever in breaking through the spin of corporate-backed PR. If you would like to make a financial contribution to help support our investigations, please use this link: https://org.salsalabs.com/o/632/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=9668

Bayer wouldn't answer our question about whether it bankrolls the Modern Ag Alliance front group it created to lobby for...
04/24/2026

Bayer wouldn't answer our question about whether it bankrolls the Modern Ag Alliance front group it created to lobby for Roundup immunity. But its chief lobbyist is the group's CEO, and the $13.6M it reported spending on lobbying and pro-Roundup ads in its latest IRS filing all came from Bayer's D.C. PR firm, the Penta Group. So what do you think?

The German pharmaceutical giant launched the Modern Ag Alliance two years ago to help protect itself from billions in cancer-related liabilities and push for new shield laws at the state and federal levels.

Bayer launched the Modern Ag Alliance two years ago to help protect itself from billions in cancer-related liabilities a...
04/24/2026

Bayer launched the Modern Ag Alliance two years ago to help protect itself from billions in cancer-related liabilities and push for new shield laws at the state and federal levels. (Part three in CMD's three-part series)

The German pharmaceutical giant launched the Modern Ag Alliance two years ago to help protect itself from billions in cancer-related liabilities and push for new shield laws at the state and federal levels.

Bayer is trying hard “to remove the few tools citizens have to hold pesticide companies accountable,” said Rob Faux of t...
04/24/2026

Bayer is trying hard “to remove the few tools citizens have to hold pesticide companies accountable,” said Rob Faux of the Pesticide Action Network North America. “Pesticide companies are seeking a ‘license to deceive.’”

After years of lobbying state lawmakers to pass immunity bills and litigating tens of thousands of failure-to-warn lawsuits over Roundup’s link to cancer, the global biotech giant is looking to Congress for liability relief through this year’s Farm Bill.

After years of lobbying state lawmakers to pass immunity bills and litigating tens of thousands of failure-to-warn lawsu...
04/24/2026

After years of lobbying state lawmakers to pass immunity bills and litigating tens of thousands of failure-to-warn lawsuits over Roundup’s link to cancer, the global biotech giant is looking to Congress for liability relief through this year’s Farm Bill. (Part two in CMD's three-part series)

After years of lobbying state lawmakers to pass immunity bills and litigating tens of thousands of failure-to-warn lawsuits over Roundup’s link to cancer, the global biotech giant is looking to Congress for liability relief through this year’s Farm Bill.

After pledging to "turn over every stone" to stiff Roundup cancer victims, Bayer spent more than $9M to lobby the Trump ...
04/24/2026

After pledging to "turn over every stone" to stiff Roundup cancer victims, Bayer spent more than $9M to lobby the Trump administration and Congress last year, and pumped $1M into Trump's inauguration fund. The pay-off has been enormous.

With Trump’s recent executive order declaring the key chemical in Roundup essential to national security, the producer of the most widely used herbicide in the world is now looking to the Supreme Court and Congress for permanent immunity from a tsunami of lawsuits for failing to warn consumers of ...

With Trump’s recent executive order declaring the key chemical in Roundup essential to national security, the producer o...
04/24/2026

With Trump’s recent executive order declaring the key chemical in Roundup essential to national security, the producer of the most widely used herbicide in the world is now looking to the Supreme Court and Congress for permanent immunity from a tsunami of lawsuits for failing to warn consumers of the product’s cancer risks. (Part I of CMD's new three-part series)

With Trump’s recent executive order declaring the key chemical in Roundup essential to national security, the producer of the most widely used herbicide in the world is now looking to the Supreme Court and Congress for permanent immunity from a tsunami of lawsuits for failing to warn consumers of ...

Kaiser has doubled down on hedge funds, outside staffing firms, and high executive compensation as workers lag behind.
10/19/2025

Kaiser has doubled down on hedge funds, outside staffing firms, and high executive compensation as workers lag behind.

Register here for an important webinar Wednesday, October 22 on the federal immigration agents' escalating violence agai...
10/17/2025

Register here for an important webinar Wednesday, October 22 on the federal immigration agents' escalating violence against journalists, observers, and protesters alike.

The Center for Media and Democracy, the American Constitution Society, and Common Cause will co-host an important webinar at 3:00 ET on Wednesday, October 22 on the latest developments in the disturbing escalation of violence by federal immigration agents against journalists, observers, and peaceful...

In a troubling trend, media outlets led by Fox News are embedding reporters in ICE raids, promoting Trump's narrative ab...
09/24/2025

In a troubling trend, media outlets led by Fox News are embedding reporters in ICE raids, promoting Trump's narrative about capturing "the worst of the worst" -- even as DHS violently cracks down on journalists covering anti-ICE protests. Read CMD's report, link in the comments.

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