The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), established in 2015 by Facebook's creator Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, has been a significant benefactor to non-profit organizations that are currently challenging the policies and practices of the Trump administration, both legally and through media campaigns.
This information was revealed in a comprehensive thread by Natalie Winters, a correspondent for War Room White House.
CZI, which aims to address some of society's most pressing issues, from disease eradication and education enhancement to local community needs, has granted nearly $7 billion since its inception.
Winters' investigation revealed that a substantial portion of these funds has been allocated to groups actively opposing the Trump administration's new policies and practices. The generous support from CZI has been instrumental in their legal, media, and advocacy work.
Winters stated on Thursday that a "progressive foundation that Mark Zuckerberg has funneled $2 billion to is bankrolling one of the leading groups currently suing the Trump administration and @DOGE." She identified the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which Zuckerberg supports, as a benefactor of Protect Democracy, a progressive political group.
According to The Post Millennial, The New York Times published an article refuting these allegations, stating, "No, Mark Zuckerberg has not donated any money to a nonprofit that is suing the Trump administration."
The article directly challenged Winters' claim that CZI was funding Protect Democracy, which is involved in "a lawsuit brought by labor unions against Mr. Trump to prevent the Department of Government Efficiency from getting access to government data." The Times quoted a spokesperson for Zuckerberg, who denied any donations to Protect Democracy by Zuckerberg, his wife, or their joint philanthropic organization, CZI.
In response, Winters released a comprehensive list of past beneficiaries of CZI. The funding from CZI is directed towards education, technology, medical research, and other areas. These groups have utilized their funds to challenge Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, assist illegal immigrants in evading lawful deportation, obstruct the confirmation of Trump's Cabinet picks, and generally "resist" all things Trump.
However, Zuckerberg's stance has shifted over the past year. He attended Trump's inauguration in Washington, DC on January 20 and donated $1 million to the inaugural fund. During the campaign, he publicly supported Trump, lauding his courage following an assassination attempt against him in Butler, PA.
Zuckerberg's letters to lawmakers revealed his frustration with the federal government's push to censor Americans on Facebook, suggesting that Rep. Jim Jordan's Facebook Files had only begun to uncover what the Biden administration had requested of the social media giant.
Zuckerberg appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience, where he discussed the pressure he claimed the Biden administration and Democrats were exerting on Facebook to censor Americans' speech on Covid. He disassociated himself from the Democratic party and pledged to cease political donations to the party or providing them with protection on Facebook.
Despite his attendance at Mar-a-Lago dinners, Winters alleged that his foundation continues to support Democrat initiatives and causes, though that database, according to Winters, has been purged.
Winters detailed that CZI funds were allocated to CASA in 2019, a group that also received funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. CASA, "the largest Latino and immigrant-based organization in the mid-Atlantic," specializes in various services and has joined with The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project and five pregnant mothers to sue the Trump administration over the executive order to end birthright citizenship for non-citizen parents.
Winters noted that CZI has previously donated at least $500,000 to Common Justice, a group that seeks to reform prisons by abolishing them. They oppose Trump's mass deportation plans, arguing that it increases prison populations, leading to "dehumanization and trauma." Common Justice is part of Protect Democracy, which has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
Influence Watch reported that Common Justice has indirectly received funds from CZI. The Just Trust, established and spun off by CZI to issue grants for criminal justice reform, was given $350 million for a five-year effort. In 2022, the Just Trust launched the Safer Communities Accelerator to fund more programs.
This group allocated $4 million from the $350 million that CZI used to spin off the Just Trust to eight organizations, including Common Justice. Common Justice is part of Protect Democracy, which has filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government's use of DOGE. Zuckerberg's wife Chan is the leader of the Just Trust.
Winters' expose, revealing that CZI has funded numerous left-wing groups over the years, underscores the deep-rooted presence of leftism in American charities, corporations, corporate giving, and institutions. The same groups that Zuckerberg has been supporting through his charitable giving are the ones currently fighting in courts and through activism to maintain the status quo.
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