The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which has a well-documented history of targeting conservatives, granted tax-exempt status in April to a Soros-backed organization now accused of trying to pay an attorney to spread “fake news” about former President Donald Trump and “Trump Republicans.”
Attorney and legal commentator Preston Moore posted a video over the weekend saying he was offered, and rejected, $400 by the “Good Information Foundation” to make a video attacking Donald Trump and “Trump Republicans.” The foundation allegedly wanted Moore to create the video about January 6 and post it on his social media platforms to reach the widest possible audience.
Moore emphasized he is not a Trump supporter and had initially considered accepting, until the organization began dodging questions about the factual accuracy of its campaign. In Moore’s video, he includes email screenshots allegedly from the Good Information Foundation with “important notes” which read:
Say “criminal conspiracy,” not “attempted coup,” “treason,” or “insurrection.” Say “Trump Republicans,” not “Trump and his allies.” Say “January 6th investigation” not “hearing” or “trial” Call this an “attack on our country” or an attack on “America” or on “Americans” and a “criminal conspiracy,” “committed crime.” Talk about “MAGA Republicans” etc. Make clear this is an ongoing and unresolved, not past and done. Show voter agency, turn the anger into defiance [emphasis added].
“It became really clear that … they wanted me to use the most graphic images possible,” he told Breitbart News. “They wanted me to use fear to manipulate people into voting blue, or into voting not Trump. … And when they’re giving examples of the things they wanted me to say — don’t say ‘Trump and his allies,’ say ‘Trump Republicans’ — it became really clear that this was about putting out information … to impact midterms.”
“I was just offered $400 to make an anti Trump video” pic.twitter.com/FhinA9nY4p
— Laura Lawrence (@LBoogie1919) September 17, 2022
According to its website, the Good Information Foundation is the 501 (c)(3) nonprofit arm of Good Information Inc., “a public benefit corporation committed to restoring social trust and strengthening democracy by investing in solutions that counter disinformation and increase the flow of good information online.” Good Information Inc., which is backed by billionaires Reid Hoffman, George Soros, and others was established in 2021 to fund media companies and “efforts that tackle disinformation,” Axios reported in October 2021.
“Good Information Inc. aims to fund and scale businesses that cut through echo chambers with fact-based information. As part of its mission, it plans to invest in local news companies,” according to the report.
The Good Information Foundation’s website says it is a “501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2021 to tackle the growing information crisis in America that is undermining social trust, harming public health, and damaging our democracy.” The organization further proclaims that “good information is the lifeblood of democracy” and that it wants “to increase the flow of good, factual information online to counter and rebut the spread of misinformation and disinformation.”
The organization’s 501(c)(3) status is especially notable because the designation is typically reserved for organizations that serve a noble public interest, such as public education and charitable work. A 501(c)(3) designation allows these organizations to forgo paying taxes on revenue and allows donors to write off donations.
Breitbart News asked the IRS on Monday if the Good Information Foundation’s alleged activities put the organization in violation of 501(c)(3) rules. The IRS said it cannot comment on the legality of an organization’s actions without an official audit and pointed to a federal statute that mandates that 501(c)(3) organizations are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”
The IRS’s website reads:
Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.
While former President Donald Trump has not announced a highly anticipated 2024 presidential run, many Trump-backed Republicans are currently running for office, and many of those races are quite competitive and will ultimately determine the balance of power for President Joe Biden’s remaining time in office — meaning, the organization’s alleged activity could be in direct violation of the statute.
Breitbart News reached out to the Good Information Foundation for comment and asked if the accusation is true and if the organization has contacted others similarly or used the same approach against other public officials or candidates. The organization did not reply by publication time.
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