Facebook pledged to suspend political donations, then quietly funneled $50,000 to GOP group...

[DonViejo]

Facebook pledged to suspend political donations, then quietly funneled $50,000 to GOP group pushing voter suppression laws

Judd Legum
2 hr ago

On January 11, Facebook announced that "following last week's awful violence" it was suspending donations from its political committee "for at least the current quarter, while we review our policies."

But campaign finance records obtained by Popular Information reveal that, 44 days later, Facebook donated $50,000 to the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC). Facebook routed the donation through a fundraising vehicle that the RSLC set up in Virginia, a state with lax campaign finance laws that allows unlimited direct corporate contributions.

The primary goal of the RSLC is to elect Republicans to state legislatures and other state-level offices across the country. In 2021, Republican state legislators introduced 361 bills to restrict voting in 47 states, according to the latest report by the Brennan Center. (By February 19, just prior to Facebook's donation, the Brennan Center had identified 253 such bills.)

In addition to supporting the election of legislators that are pushing measures to restrict voting, the RSLC is directly encouraging state officials to make voting more difficult. The group supported a version of the Georgia voting legislation that was even harsher than the measure that ultimately became law. The RSLC supported ending no-excuse absentee voting in Georgia and completely banning drop boxes.

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https://popular.info/p/facebook-pledged-to-suspend-political