Two prominent members of the Murdoch family, which owns Fox News, appear to be pouring millions of dollars into an obscure political group called Unite America. It’s a colorful story of billionaires and politics, here comes the thread.
James Murdoch, the second son of Rupert Murdoch, made a “strategic investment” in Unite America this year along with his wife Kathryn, via a foundation they run. In addition to that investment (the amount isn't known), Kathryn donated $1.65 million to Unite America’s PAC. 
The Murdochs are not saying how much total money, individually and via their foundation, they're giving to Unite America. But the group just announced it’s dispersing more than $5 million to back ranked choice voting and fight gerrymandering. uniteamerica.org/firstgrants
There are lots of curious things going on here.
One is that super-rich philanthropists with sketchy fortunes or sketchy reputations are not popular these days; witness the controversies around the Sackler family's donations to museums, and Jeffrey Epstein’s gifts to MIT.
The incisive @AnandWrites has abundantly pointed out the quandaries behind the 1 percent using philanthropy to launder their reputations and shape our politics and culture, rather than letting the 99 percent doing so. amazon.com/Winners-Take-A…
@AnandWrites The $5 million funding unveiled by Unite America appears to be the start of bigger things. The group just posted a job ad for a managing director of its new “Unite America Fund.” It also posted a video about the fund on YouTube (not many views so far).
@AnandWrites The video imparts a "we the people vibe" -- the current system isn't serving us, we need to join together, etc. You wouldn't realize that Unite America is not a grassroots organization. It's funded, as far as I can tell, almost exclusively by the Murdochs and a few other donors.
@AnandWrites Here's a screenshot of the top donors to Unite America's PAC in the first half of 2019 (from the FEC). Virtually the entirety of the donations come from Kathryn Murdoch and Marc Merrill, the co-founder of Riot Games.
@AnandWrites (I’ve asked Unite America for details about Kathryn Murdoch’s support for the Unite America Fund and other donors to it, but I haven’t heard back. I'll update this thread if/when I do.)
@AnandWrites Here's what Murdoch, who became UA's co-chair this year, said in a press release: "Through the Unite America Fund, I am thrilled to support these campaigns alongside a growing community of philanthropists who are stepping forward to help accelerate the democracy reform movement.”
@AnandWrites What's also curious about this whole thing is that Fox News is a far right organization, while Unite America is centrist and non-partisan (ranked choice voting is a cause endorsed by a lot of good people). Just what are James and Kathryn Murdoch up to? Rogue Murdochs?
@AnandWrites James lost the succession battle last year, when his brother Lachlan was tapped by their father. James has always been more centrist than Lachlan or Rupert, but he held senior positions and board seats with no evident discomfort. Like other Murdochs, he’s become a billionaire.
@AnandWrites Until this month, James had not uttered a public word of criticism about the toxic content from Fox News and other Murdoch properties. Now, apparently trying to distance himself from the taint of what his family has done, he says, “There are views I really disagree with on Fox.”
@AnandWrites That quote is from a curious interview Jane Mayer had with James, just published by the New Yorker. newyorker.com/magazine/2019/…
@AnandWrites Anyway, from Fox News to Unite America, it's a curious journey that raises a lot of questions. I've got to run, so this thread has probably run its course, but please feel free to DM me if you have any thoughts or information.
@AnandWrites Update: I'm embedding here a separate thread I later wrote about a Unite America video that was taken down after an anti-Murdoch comment was posted on it.
@AnandWrites Update 2: I was just going to say something about the gentle NYT profile of Kathryn Murdoch but @AnandWrites just said a lot of what I was going to say.
@AnandWrites Anand adds in his thread, "And, to channel @chiaracordelli, what gives them the right to decide how to fund the solution of problems caused by their family and in the making of their vast fortunes?"
@AnandWrites @chiaracordelli A few months ago, I wrote about the effort by James and Kathryn Murdoch to use their philanthropy to rewrite their role in what their family has done and how they've profited from it. theintercept.com/2019/06/29/jam…
