Welcome to Saturday Hashtag, a weekly place for broader context.
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It is clear that academia has long been under siege from numerous forces, extending well beyond mercenary for-profit colleges like Trump University, which was shut down after multiple investigations and lawsuits exposed its fraudulent practices.
The broader assault on higher education has become more insidious in today’s polarized climate: the erosion of the line between genuine academic research and ideologically-driven propaganda.
This distinction has become dangerously unclear, particularly as right-wing organizations churn out “studies” that distort facts to advance political agendas rather than fostering objective, fact-based inquiry. They are crafted to advance extreme conservative agendas, lacking the academic rigor necessary for credible research that fosters informed, unbiased debate.
To the less informed — the majority of Fox News viewers — these “studies” lend the appearance of legitimacy to even the most absurd lunacy, some of it dangerous.
These groups, including churches, are less concerned with expanding knowledge and more focused on manipulating public opinion and influencing policy through pseudo-academic work. For example, PragerU presents itself as a “university,” yet it is not accredited as an academic institution. Despite this fraud, it produces videos presented as “educational,” but they distort data and history to support right-wing ideologies.
Similarly, Turning Point USA creates “research” that mimics valid academic work, but is crafted to serve political agendas, prioritizing ideological messaging over objective, sound analysis.
Other well-known conservative entities, such as the Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, the Manhattan Institute, the Family Research Council, the Acton Institute, and the Heartland Institute continually generate reports that serve political goals rather than objective inquiry. These reports are often cited by conservative media and politicians, but their studies prioritize political agendas over unbiased analysis.
The National Bureau of Economic Research (most objective), the Hoover Institution (nominally objective) the American Enterprise Institute also contribute to this ecosystem of ideologically-driven “research.” While some of these organizations are considered reputable in certain circles, their work sometimes falls short of the academic rigor typically expected from scholarly research.
These organizations don’t just feed the media; their pseudo-academic content directly infiltrates education systems in red states, particularly Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Indiana.
Fox News perpetually amplifies the reports from these conservative organizations — with their coating of legitimacy — spreading misleading narratives that distort public understanding and promote ideological agendas. This influence undermines education and fuels political polarization.
The rise of politically driven think tanks threatens legitimate academic institutions and undermines democracy, as they’re funded to advance specific political ideologies rather than the pursuit of objective truth. Their influence, especially through initiatives like Project 2025, erodes the credibility of actual scholarly work and distorts public understanding of key issues.
Funded by right-wing donors (like Charles Koch, Leonard Leo, Peter Thiel, Timothy Mellon, Ken Griffin, Paul Singer, Richard Uihlein, David Green, Patrick Byrne, etc), these organizations fuel the growing problem of misinformation and disinformation in academia, policy, and society. Their work, driven by ideology over fact, should never be confused with legitimate academic research, as it consistently prioritizes political agendas over objective, unbiased analysis.
The primary difference between these 12 ($1.2116B in revenue or total assets) funded entities and the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda is that the most egregious of them are fronted and operated by wannabe oligarchs rather than the state… for now.
The Heritage Foundation ($415M total assets): Fronted by Kevin Roberts, is a conservative think tank infamous for Project 2025. It produces studies that distort data to advance right-wing policies on taxes, healthcare, and regulation, using deceptive methods that undermine the credibility and integrity of its findings.
The American Enterprise Institute ($348M total assets): Fronted by Robert Doar, produces a wide array of policy research that specifically aligns with the political preferences of its donors and board members, rather than engaging in independent academic inquiry.
The National Bureau of Economic Research ($177M total assets): Led by James Poterba, while not a conservative organization itself, some studies funded by conservative entities are selectively used to support right-wing economic policies, raising some questions about its impartiality.
The Cato Institute ($172M total assets): Fronted by Peter Goettler, though respected in libertarian circles, Cato’s research advances its political agenda by selectively analyzing data to promote libertarian principles of limited government and individual freedoms.
PragerU ($102M total assets): Fronted by co-founders Dennis Prager and Allen Estrin, funded by Farris and Dan Wilks, despite branding itself as a “university,” PragerU is actually only a media organization with no academic accreditation. Its videos promote right-wing ideologies, lacking academic rigor and peer-reviewed research, distort facts to fit their political agenda.
Turning Point USA ($81.7M revenue): Fronted by Charlie Kirk, spreads conservative views on college campuses through research and reports that lack academic methodology, instead serving political aims by cherry-picking data.
The Hoover Institution ($66.7M revenue): Led by Condoleezza Rice, based at Stanford, the Hoover Institution is academically rigorous in some areas but also produces research that aligns with conservative values, especially in foreign policy and defense, potentially compromising scholarly neutrality.
The Federalist Society ($49.9M total assets): Fronted by Leonard Leo and Steven Calabresi, advocates for right-wing judges, produces policy papers, and research that advance their conservative agendas of originalism and limited government, relying on selective interpretations of legal principles without peer review or rigorous scholarly standards.
The Manhattan Institute ($40.6M total assets): Fronted by Reihan Salam, focused on urban policy and economics, its agenda driven research exclusively reinforces conservative values such as limited government and free-market thinking, rather than providing unbiased, objective analysis.
The Acton Institute ($28.1M total assets): Fronted by Kris Alan Mauren, blends free-market capitalism with conservative religious values, often blurring the line between objective research and ideological advocacy, promoting limited government and economic freedom from an extreme religious standpoint.
The Family Research Council ($22M revenue): Fronted by Tony Perkins, focuses on socially conservative issues, their research is politically motivated, reinforcing religious and conservative social viewpoints rather than providing impartial analysis.
The Heartland Institute ($4.08M revenue): Fronted by James M. Taylor, known for climate change denial, publishes reports that downplay climate risks and promote fossil fuel interests, using flawed methodologies to support conservative views.
