However, some conservative activists have called out the platform, accusing it of having a left-wing bias and lacking transparency in its donor disclosure.
Founded in 2007 by former Wall Street Journal editor Paul Steiger, ProPublica has become known for its reports on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust. However, detractors argue that while the organization is busy challenging transparency issues in right-leaning organizations and figures, it lacks transparency.
In its latest IRS filings, ProPublica reported donations exceeding $35 million in 2021. This figure appears to surpass the disclosure level required by the IRS. However, critics have pointed out a degree of opacity in its records, with an unclear level of detail around some donations.
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ProPublica received an estimated $6.3 million from unnamed donors in 2020 and 2021. When asked about the identity of two donors who contributed almost a quarter of the donations in the previous year, ProPublica chose not to disclose this information. Some contributors use methods such as Donor Advised Funds, which keep their identities anonymous, while others list their contributions under ProPublica's New York address.
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The activists, who have chosen to remain unnamed, have recently expressed their discontent with ProPublica's April report, which detailed an alleged "beneficial relationship" between Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow. The report suggested that Thomas received undisclosed gifts from Crow, which included vacations on Crow's yacht and private jet.
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One of the conservative activists commented, "They're running a very aggressive campaign to target conservative justices of the [Supreme] Court. They act all righteous and preening faux-objectivity as if they're moral giants and we're knuckle-dragging animals. It's ridiculous."
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ProPublica's investigative prowess won it a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 and has been a source of controversy, especially after it published leaked tax secrets of billionaires.
According to their 2022 audited financial statement, $9.9 million of ProPublica's funding came from two donors. The identities of these donors, however, were not disclosed. The organization's most affluent donors were recently hosted at a fundraiser in Manhattan's Gramercy Park by multi-millionaire financier Mark Colodny, a member of ProPublica's board of directors members. Attendees included members of the Rockefeller dynasty and executives from Spotify, Brown University, and Condé Nast.
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A conservative activist noted the irony, saying, "The sanctimony of ProPublica is a bit much considering they're bankrolled by left-wing donors yet they dress themselves up as being all about purity and transparency."
Among ProPublica's subject of reports is Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo, whom it has described as "a key architect of the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority." Leo questioned ProPublica's financial sources, wondering about the potential influence of these unknown financiers on the organization's reports.
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ProPublica lists some of its biggest donors on its website, including the Abrams Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Dyson Foundation, and the Commonwealth Fund. Its top contributor in 2021 was Crankstart, a San Francisco-based family foundation, with a $3 million donation.
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Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs and a known Democratic supporter donated $2 million through her "social change" investment firm, Emerson Collective. Despite being a significant donor, Jobs was called out in a 2021 ProPublica piece for avoiding paying estate taxes.
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In response to questions about its opaque donor list, a ProPublica spokesperson said, "Every year, on our IRS Form 990, we list the donors who contributed $5,000 or more, which provides readers with more transparency about the sources of our funding than the IRS requires of nonprofits. Our 2022 Form 990 will be published this fall, as is our standard practice."
ProPublica declined to comment when queried about the numerous anonymous donations listed on its recent 990 disclosure. Its 2020 IRS filings reveal that it received over $4.9 million from anonymous donors and an additional $1.399 million in 2021. This adds up to $6.3 million in anonymous contributions over two years.
In an unexpected turn of events, ProPublica announced in December that it would return $1.6 million donated by Sam Bankman-Fried, the embattled crypto tycoon. The funds will be held in a separate account until a legal authority directs where the funds should be returned.
ProPublica's Manhattan fundraiser saw guests like Timothy M. Andrews, an Advertising Specialty Institute executive. Andrews, who worked with the Wall Street Journal over three decades ago, vouched for ProPublica's integrity. "I've been a donor for a decade and never once have they said anything about what they're working on in the future. The ethics of ProPublica… everyone should adopt," he said.
Andrews also dismissed the claim that ProPublica leans left in its reporting. "I don't think they lean left. They had a lot of coverage during the Obama administration that was not always flattering. I think they tell the truth from both the left and right side."
Mark Colodny, a former Fortune magazine reporter, also defended ProPublica. "I support ProPublica because I have long been concerned about the crisis in funding for journalism in the US," he stated.
Lawrence Rand, another guest at the fundraiser, echoed Andrews' sentiments about ProPublica's strong ethics.
Despite the controversies, ProPublica remains committed to its mission of investigative journalism. However, its funding practices and alleged ideological bias continue to generate debate about its standing as an unbiased news source.
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