A group that played a key role in helping the Obama administration secure the Iran deal paid National Public Radio $100,000 in 2015 to cover the nuclear agreement, according to recent filings.
The Ploughshares Fund explained online in its annual report that it awarded the grant to NPR to encourage, “national security reporting that emphasizes the themes of U.S. nuclear weapons policy and budgets, Iran’s nuclear program, international nuclear security topics and U.S. policy toward nuclear security.”
The nonproliferation advocacy group also boasted on its website that it was instrumental in seeing the Iran deal passed.
Though it’s not usual for outside groups to provide newsrooms with funding, Ploughshares’ donation to NPR raises several questions, according to the Associated Press.
“Outside groups of all stripes are increasingly giving money to news organizations for special projects or general news coverage,” the AP reported. “Ploughshares’ backing is more unusual, given its prominent role in the rancorous, partisan debate over the Iran deal.”
“Ploughshares has funded NPR’s coverage of national security since 2005, the radio network said. Ploughshares reports show at least $700,000 in funding over that time. All grant descriptions since 2010 specifically mention Iran,” the report added.
NPR hosted the group’s president, Joseph Cirincione, at least twice in 2015 to discuss the Iran deal. The radio news group noted Ploughshares was a funder during one of his interviews, but didn’t disclose it during the other, the AP noted.
The news group’s role in covering the nuclear treaty – even as it accepted cash from a White House surrogate – is complicated by the fact that it receives public funding.
A Ploughshares spokeswoman defended their relationship with NPR, and said Friday in a statement that there is no conflict of interest.
“It is common practice for foundations to fund media coverage of underreported stories,” Jennifer Abrahamson said, and insisted Ploughshares’ money, “does not influence the editorial content of their coverage in any way, nor would we want it to.”
News that the pro-Iran deal advocate donated generously to NPR in 2015 comes on the heels of a New York Times Magazine profile alleging the White House intentionally sold fictitious pro-nuclear agreement talking points to media and outside advocacy groups.
Ben Rhodes, President’s Obama’s Deputy National Security adviser, bragged he fed carefully constructed narratives to reporters who were either gullible, lazy or complicit.
“All these newspapers used to have foreign bureaus,” the Obama official told the NYT Magazine. “Now they don’t. They call us to explain to them what’s happening in Moscow and Cairo. Most of the outlets are reporting on world events from Washington.”
“The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing,” he added.
Rhodes also explained they relied heavily on outside groups to create an “echo chamber” to drown out opposition to the deal.
“In the absence of rational discourse, we are going to discourse the [expletive] out of this,” he said, explaining that his underhanded methods were the only way that the deal could get passed. “We had test drives to know who was going to be able to carry our message effectively, and how to use outside groups. So we knew the tactics that worked.”
Rhodes named Ploughshares specifically as one of the outside groups that the White House leaned on to help create the aforementioned “echo chamber.”
“We drove them crazy,” the Obama spin doctor said in reference to the opponents of the nuclear agreement.
NPR isn’t the only newsroom to pique Ploughshares’ interest.
The group mentioned in its “Cultural Strategy Report” that it wants to ensure “regular and accurate coverage of nuclear issues in reputable and strategic media outlets” from mainstream newsrooms, including the Guardian and the Huffington Post.
Ploughshares mission statement is to, “build a safe, secure world by developing and investing in initiatives to reduce and ultimately eliminate the world’s nuclear stockpiles.”
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This story has been updated.
