{"id":6246,"date":"2026-09-29T17:56:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T22:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/?p=6246"},"modified":"2026-09-30T11:48:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:48:17","slug":"dark-money-and-the-fight-over-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/dark-money-and-the-fight-over-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark money and the fight over Cuba"},"content":{"rendered":"

The same public charity that supports Real America\u2019s Voice<\/a> and Steve Bannon\u2019s War Room<\/a> podcast funneled $1.4 million to the parent company of ADN Cuba<\/a> and ADN Am\u00e9rica<\/a> from 2021 to 2024.<\/p>\n

ADN Cuba has evolved over the past decade. It began in 2017 as a cultural bridge\u2014a shared space uniting the diverse perspectives and creative visions of Cubans on and off the island.<\/p>\n

Nearly a decade later, ADN Cuba is part of a thriving right-of-center media ecosystem. Its anti-regime reporting blends seamlessly with heated U.S. partisan debates leading up to the mid-term congressional elections.<\/p>\n

ADN Cuba\u2019s parent organization, Ulloo Media Inc., has received key support from the Informing America Foundation<\/a>. From its K Street NW office just a half mile from the White House, the foundation distributed a total of $18 million in grants from 2021 to 2024. That included $1.4 million to Ulloo Media for the creation of \u201cbi-lingual media focusing on public-interest policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative journalist John Solomon founded IAF in 2021. Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was listed as a director on the board in 2021 and 2022, highlighting the foundation\u2019s political clout despite filing as a strictly non-partisan public charity.<\/p>\n

At first glance, it appears the foundation paid $0 for executive compensation, giving the impression that the leadership was working for free. But dig into the back pages of the charity\u2019s 2024 tax filing and you\u2019ll find $708,000 in executive pay.<\/p>\n

While unconventional, such an approach is legal. It\u2019s also efficient. By outsourcing everything to contractors and keeping its operation lean, Informing America can focus on its core mission: Funneling millions of dollars in donations into an ecosystem of right-of-center media operations.<\/p>\n

The foundation\u2019s mega-donors are anonymous, leading to criticism that it is a \u201cdark money\u201d operation.<\/p>\n

To be fair, the left also uses wealthy anonymous contributors to fund media operations.<\/p>\n

COURIER Newsroom<\/a> is a prime example. Democratic political strategist Tara McGowan founded the company in 2019. COURIER now operates 20 digital publications with such names as The \u2018Gander, UpNorthNews and Granite Post.<\/p>\n

WIRED Magazine calls it “a media powerhouse for the Left<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

“Courier Newsroom is a partisan media project that supports liberal politics and Democratic political candidates while appearing to be state-level independent news outlets,” InfluenceWatch reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re reaching our audiences where they spend their time – on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook,\u201d COURIER states.<\/p>\n

Informing America passed out 40 grants to Ulloo Media and 17 other organizations from 2022 to 2024. Its top grant recipients include:<\/p>\n