stranger than heaven: How a Secretive Billionaire’s Philanthropy Fund Is Quietly Buying Up Newsrooms to Control the 2024 Elections
In a twist stranger than heaven, internal documents leaked to this outlet reveal that a little-known, tax-exempt foundation—funded by a tech mogul who made his fortune in surveillance software—has funneled over $400 million into local news outlets across swing states. The catch? The foundation’s board includes former intelligence officers and political operatives, and the grants come with editorial “suggestions” that seem to dictate coverage on voting machines, election integrity, and candidate narratives.
We spoke to a former editor who quit in protest. “They don’t tell you what to write,” she said, “but the funding dries up the moment you question their narrative. It’s a ghost in the machine.” As the news industry clings to life, someone is buying the oxygen. The question isn’t just “who benefits?”—it’s “who pays the ultimate price for a story that feels more film than fact?”