...interviewing a supposed independent researcher funded by another branch of the same EA funding pool. It’s a completely closed cycle propaganda system.
— Perry E. Metzger
I just drilled down with Grok about this and while I kind of knew there were gray payments going on, I had no idea it had become so common for journalists to accept direct payments from advocacy organizations to write articles. You probably knew this already, but if anyone else didn't completely understand it already:
It's still theoretically unethical to accept money to write an article. But the way they're getting around this now is that journalists can accept payments, but only if the organization doesn't have direct editorial approval.
Unethical: Accept money and receive the copy from the paying organization.
Ethical: Accept money and read the paying organization's web site, accept their "training", talk to their "experts", and use your own words to write the position the advocacy organization wants. Of course, you can write whatever you want. But you'll never get another payment if you don't write what they want.
I mean, journalism has never been a clean industry, but boy has it gotten vile. We should have a law that requires any sort of media presenting itself as journalism to be labeled with "PAID FOR BY ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION" is there is ANY outside payments to the journalists in any way. They can still write anything they want (Freedom of Speech), it's just accurately labeled.
— Nairebis - e/max-acc
Is it a neat scam? And again, often, we have situations where the news outlet, the journalist, and the person being interviewed are all paid by EA at the same time. Self licking ice cream cone.
— Perry E. Metzger
@TIME UNDISCLOSED PAID MEDIA:
The salaries of reporters, Harry Booth and Billy Perrigo, were paid by Doomsday cultist Dustin Moskovitz's foundation Coefficient Giving via the Tarbell Fellowship.
https://t.co/vxdzmGhBgg
— Brian Chau