Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD
The @BBC should let viewers know Matt Goodwin is a lobbyist for the Koch-funded free-market Legatum Institute, founded by Legatum Foundation, the "philanthropic" arm of Dubai-based investment firm Legatum Group, which funds GB "News".
#PoliticsLive
bylinetimes.com/2021/02/15/gb-…

Last year, GB "News" appointed as its Chairman Alan McCormick who has tweeted articles questioning climate science & chairs a foundation that has received funding from fossil fuel interests, & was bought out by existing backers Legatum Ventures Ltd.

desmog.com/2022/05/12/gb-…

GB "News" regularly hosts guests who cast doubt on climate science & oppose green polices, including the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of @Conservatives MPs. Nigel Farage launched a call for a “Net Zero Referendum” on the UK’s climate targets, modelled on his #Brexit campaign.

McCormick, whose appointment was made public at the end of April last year, has also tweeted praise for calls for deregulation in the UK by Tory MP Steve Baker, who is leading the NZSG’s backbench revolt against the UK’s 2050 net zero goal.

desmog.com/legatum-instit…

The shake-up among GB "News"'s backers involved the founding investor Discovery selling up, & existing shareholders Sir Paul Marshall, the Brextremist hedge fund tycoon, & Legatum, the Dubai-based investment company founded by billionaire Christopher Chandler, taking control.

Financial accounts for Discovery’s UK business subsequently revealed it sold its 25% stake for £8million, a 60% drop on the original £20M it paid, which would suggest the value of GB "News" had fallen from £80m at launch to £32M.

theguardian.com/media/2023/mar…

The Legatum Institute Foundation, a charitable enterprise created by the Legatum Group, has taken funding from another foundation tied to US fossil fuel giant Koch Industries, a major supporter of think-tanks, lobbyists & politicians opposing climate action, mainly in the US.

US tax filings show the Legatum Institute Foundation, whose board of trustees McCormick chairs, received donations of £60,700 ($77,000) in both 2019 and 2018 from the Charles Koch Foundation, the "charitable" arm of Koch Industries.

opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-…

According to Greenpeace, the Koch family spent more than £116.1 million ($145.5 million) directly financing 90 groups denying climate change science from 1997-2018.

greenpeace.org/usa/fighting-c…

The Legatum Institute Foundation think-tank, the Legatum Institute, played a leading role in the libertarian drive for a “hard” #Brexit and in 2018 was found to have breached Charity Commission guidelines on neutrality for one of its reports.

ft.com/content/50952a…

The least transparent (in terms of funding) UK "think tanks" include the Adam Smith Institute, Centre for Policy Studies, Civitas, IEA, Policy Exchange, the TaxPayers’ Alliance, ResPublica, Centre for Social Justice, & of course, Legatum Institute.

opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-…

Despite its influential position as 'The Brexiter's favourite think tank', the Legatum Institute, which had an income of £4,175,671 in 2021, has provided no or very little clear information on its website about where donations come from.

However, an investigation by @openDemocracy found that the US fundraising arm of the institute, along with the US arm of the Adam Smith Institute, had between them received $350,000 from the Sarah Scaife Foundation, which is led by a billionaire heir to an oil & banking fortune.

Meanwhile, GB "News" wants to capture disillusioned older 'anti-woke' @BBC viewers with a line-up featuring John Cleese, Jacob Rees-Mogg, #30pLee, & a new political editor, Christopher Hope, the Daily Telegraph‘s associate editor of politics.

inews.co.uk/news/media/ins…

Riddled with conspiracy theorists, @Ofcom recently ruled that the Mark Steyn programme breached broadcasting rules when it gave a materially misleading interpretation of official data without sufficient challenge or counterweight, risking harm to viewers.
ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/20…

GB "News" exists to represent its rich backers' interests, by ensuring harmful polarisation & outrage to divide voters.

Full Fact has repeatedly contacted GB "News" about unsubstantiated or false claims without ever receiving a response.

fullfact.org/health/mark-st…