Activist Group Backed By Dem-Aligned Dark Money To Bankroll Popular Youth News Site
Trevor Schakohl on April 13, 2023
Vox Media’s left-wing, youth-focused news website NowThis is set to become an independent operation with funding from Accelerate Change, a nonprofit media group that has received significant support from Democrat-linked dark money donors.
NowThis, a brand with millions of followers across various topic–focused social media pages, will have its editorial and personnel operations independently managed, while Vox Media will hold minority ownership in tandem with Accelerate Change’s funding, Vox Media announced Wednesday. Accelerate Change got more than $2 million from the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Hopewell Fund in 2019 and $300,000 from the 501(c)(3) New Venture Fund from 2020 to 2021.
Accelerate Change says it works to “scale and invest in emergent and established cultural media properties,” and NowThis has developed a prominent presence in digital media.
NowThis is known for posting short, political videos on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, with a significant portion of its content showing Republicans in a negative light or positively portraying Democrats. Some of the videos have garnered millions of views, and the NowThis TikTok team received the 2021 Shorty Impact Award for best social media team.
NowThis published a video clip in January 2020 that featured a George Washington University student saying Anne Frank “didn’t die in a concentration camp,” but subsequently removed it and reported that the student “misspoke,” according to the Jewish Journal. In June 2016, NowThis posted a highly edited video of comments that then-presidential candidate Donald Trump made in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub that month, prompting another Facebook page to say, “They’re trying their best to make him look bad. … This page is completely dishonest, and [has] no integrity.”
“We’re excited to be working with the Accelerate Change team who align strongly not only with our content creation goals, but also with our core values and commitment to bringing our award-winning, impactful programming to an even larger audience,” NowThis Senior Vice President of Production and Operations Jessica Borovay said recently, according to Vox Media.
“Dark money” groups spend funds from undisclosed sources to impact political outcomes, according to Open Secrets. Managed by the Democratic Party-tied consulting firm Arabella Advisors, the Hopewell Fund and the New Venture Fundhave both taken in tens of millions of dollars from anonymous donors and donated to a variety of left-wing advocacy organizations.
Arabella Advisors also manages the 501(c)(4) nonprofit Sixteen Thirty Fund, a donor for liberal groups like the League of Conservation Voters and the George Soros-funded Color of Change PAC, which itself endorsed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in 2021.
“Our investment reflects NowThis’ runaway growth and position as the leading social news brand for young people,” Accelerate Change President Peter Murray said, Vox Media reported. “NowThis is the number one news publisher on TikTok by a mile and has multiple top shows on Snapchat and continues to lead engagement across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.”
NowThis and Accelerate Change did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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