Definers Public Affairs - Revision history

Melissa Jones at 06:38, 20 March 2018

2018-03-20T06:38:33Z

Melissa Jones: /* Targeting environmental opponents */

2018-03-20T06:35:13Z

Targeting environmental opponents

Melissa Jones: /* America Rising: an 'opposition research factory' */ close quote

2018-03-20T06:31:33Z

America Rising: an 'opposition research factory': close quote

Melissa Jones: /* America Rising: an 'opposition research factory' */ typo

2018-03-20T06:30:41Z

America Rising: an 'opposition research factory': typo

Tamasin Cave at 23:22, 19 March 2018

2018-03-19T23:22:23Z

Tamasin Cave at 14:09, 4 March 2018

2018-03-04T14:09:34Z

Tamasin Cave at 14:08, 4 March 2018

2018-03-04T14:08:53Z

Tamasin Cave at 14:05, 4 March 2018

2018-03-04T14:05:44Z

Melissa Jones at 02:22, 1 March 2018

2018-03-01T02:22:51Z

Tamasin Cave at 01:13, 1 March 2018

2018-03-01T01:13:51Z

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 The firm was established in January 2017 and was originally called 'UK Rising' (see 'America Rising' below). Its directors are [[Joe Pounder]] and [[Matt Rhoades]].
-It appointed [[Andrew Goodfellow]], a former director of research for the Conservative party, as its vice president.
+It appointed [[Andrew Goodfellow]], a former director of research for the Conservative Party, as its vice president.
 The [[UK Policy Group]] will help corporate clients with campaign-style research, media monitoring, opinion research, and communications strategy advice' according to a press release.<ref name="Romney">[https://www.definersdc.com/single-post/2017/07/10/Politico-Breaks-Definers-Expansion-To-London Romney-linked lobbying firm to open London branch], Politico, 10 July 2017</ref>

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 The article quotes one EPA employee, whose emails were targeted after he took part in a union protest against budget cuts at the agency, who called the tactics a 'witch hunt against E.P.A. employees who are only trying to protect human health and the environment.'
-Definers was then hired by the E.P.A. to provide a 'media monitoring' service, raising further fears. One E.P.A. lawyer who helped lead a series of enforcement actions against major air polluters in the Midwest, and whose emails also were requested through a Freedom of Information request, said the EPA's decision to hire Definers caused great concern. “Now that [Definers] are working for the agency, will they have access to agency computers and perhaps try to come after me in a whole bunch of different ways?... It is very scary. Very, very scary.”<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref> Definers reportedly ended the contract after two senators expressed concern about the award and nature of the work. <ref>[https://www.prweek.com/article/1453316/report-epa-definers-cut-ties-contract-comes-scrutiny#1o63A8J7TGz4TAzw.99 Definers Cuts ties], PR Week, 20 Dec 2017</ref>
+Definers was then hired by the EPA to provide a 'media monitoring' service, raising further fears. One EPA lawyer who helped lead a series of enforcement actions against major air polluters in the Midwest, and whose emails also were requested through a Freedom of Information request, said the EPA's decision to hire Definers caused great concern. “Now that [Definers] are working for the agency, will they have access to agency computers and perhaps try to come after me in a whole bunch of different ways?... It is very scary. Very, very scary.”<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], ''New York Times'', 17 Dec 2017</ref> Definers reportedly ended the contract after two senators expressed concern about the award and nature of the work. <ref>[https://www.prweek.com/article/1453316/report-epa-definers-cut-ties-contract-comes-scrutiny#1o63A8J7TGz4TAzw.99 Definers Cuts ties], PR Week, 20 Dec 2017</ref>
-According to the NY Times article, Blutstein also has sought emails and other information from at least two climate scientists, Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University and Robert Kopp of Rutgers University. In addition, the nonprofit arm of America Rising, known as America Rising Squared, used “trackers” to videotape activists like Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, and Tom Steyer, the billionaire investor and Democratic donor. Definers would not say who paid for the surveillance. Brian Rogers, executive director of America Rising Squared and a senior vice president at Definers said: 'America Rising Squared is committed to ensuring a balanced debate, and providing a conservative perspective on the issues and actors involved.'<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref>
+According to the NYT article, Blutstein also has sought emails and other information from at least two climate scientists, Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University and Robert Kopp of Rutgers University. In addition, the nonprofit arm of America Rising, known as [[America Rising Squared]], used “trackers” to videotape activists like Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, and Tom Steyer, the billionaire investor and Democratic donor. Definers would not say who paid for the surveillance. Brian Rogers, executive director of America Rising Squared and a senior vice president at Definers said: 'America Rising Squared is committed to ensuring a balanced debate, and providing a conservative perspective on the issues and actors involved.'<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref>
 ==Clients==

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ==America Rising: an 'opposition research factory'==
-Definers partners [[Matt Rhoades]] founded [[America Rising]], a political action committee, or PAC that, according to reports in ''Mother Jones'' and the ''New York Times'' 'specialises in helping [Republican] party candidates and conservative groups find damaging information on political rivals.<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref><ref>[https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/12/the-epa-hired-a-major-republican-opposition-research-firm-to-track-press-activity/ The EPA Hired a Major Republican Opposition Research Firm to Track Press Activity], Mother Jones, 15 Dec 2017</ref>
+Definers partners [[Matt Rhoades]] founded [[America Rising]], a political action committee, or PAC that, according to reports in ''Mother Jones'' and the ''New York Times'' 'specialises in helping [Republican] party candidates and conservative groups find damaging information on political rivals'.<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref><ref>[https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/12/the-epa-hired-a-major-republican-opposition-research-firm-to-track-press-activity/ The EPA Hired a Major Republican Opposition Research Firm to Track Press Activity], ''Mother Jones'', 15 Dec 2017</ref>
 Definers and [[America Rising]] share several top executives. As well as Rhoades, [[Joe Pounder]] is its president and Definers vice president [[Allan L. Blutstein]] has also worked with [[America Rising]].

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 Definers partners [[Matt Rhoades]] founded [[America Rising]], a political action committee, or PAC that, according to reports in ''Mother Jones'' and the ''New York Times'' 'specialises in helping [Republican] party candidates and conservative groups find damaging information on political rivals.<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref><ref>[https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/12/the-epa-hired-a-major-republican-opposition-research-firm-to-track-press-activity/ The EPA Hired a Major Republican Opposition Research Firm to Track Press Activity], Mother Jones, 15 Dec 2017</ref>
-Definers and [[Amercia Rising]] share several top executives. As well as Rhoades, [[Joe Pounder]] is its president and Definers vice president [[Allan L. Blutstein]] has also worked with [[America Rising]].
+Definers and [[America Rising]] share several top executives. As well as Rhoades, [[Joe Pounder]] is its president and Definers vice president [[Allan L. Blutstein]] has also worked with [[America Rising]].
 ==Targeting environmental opponents==

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:22, 19 March 2018
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	According to the NY Times article, Blutstein also has sought emails and other information from at least two climate scientists, Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University and Robert Kopp of Rutgers University. In addition, the nonprofit arm of America Rising, known as America Rising Squared, used “trackers” to videotape activists like Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, and Tom Steyer, the billionaire investor and Democratic donor. Definers would not say who paid for the surveillance. Brian Rogers, executive director of America Rising Squared and a senior vice president at Definers said: 'America Rising Squared is committed to ensuring a balanced debate, and providing a conservative perspective on the issues and actors involved.'<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref>		According to the NY Times article, Blutstein also has sought emails and other information from at least two climate scientists, Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University and Robert Kopp of Rutgers University. In addition, the nonprofit arm of America Rising, known as America Rising Squared, used “trackers” to videotape activists like Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, and Tom Steyer, the billionaire investor and Democratic donor. Definers would not say who paid for the surveillance. Brian Rogers, executive director of America Rising Squared and a senior vice president at Definers said: 'America Rising Squared is committed to ensuring a balanced debate, and providing a conservative perspective on the issues and actors involved.'<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref>
		+
		+	==Clients==
		+	*[[Facebook]]. According to Politico, [[Facebook]] hired Definers Public Affairs in 2017 to help it 'navigate' the investigation by US lawmakers into Russian influence in the 2016 US election that saw [[Donald Trump]] become President.<ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/facebook-russia-struggles-to-contain-narrative/ Facebook struggles to contain Russia narrative], Politico, 29 October 2017</ref>

	==Contact==		==Contact==

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 ==Targeting environmental opponents==
-In December 2017, the ''New York Times'' reported that Blutstein had prepared a series of Freedom of Information requests targeting employees of the US [[Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) who had questioned the way the agency was being run. According to Eric Lipton's report in the ''New York Times'':<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref>
+In December 2017, the ''New York Times'' reported that Definers vice president [[Allan L. Blutstein]] had prepared a series of Freedom of Information requests targeting employees of the US [[Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) who had questioned the way the agency was being run. According to Eric Lipton's report in the ''New York Times'':<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref>
 :'One Environmental Protection Agency employee spoke up at a private lunch held near the agency headquarters, saying she feared the nation might be headed toward an “environmental catastrophe.” Another staff member, from Seattle, sent a letter to Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator, raising similar concerns about the direction of the agency. A third, from Philadelphia, went to a rally where he protested against agency budget cuts.

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 Services they provide promise to 'disrupt The Political, Regulatory, And Communications Environment Over The Long-Term' for clients. Its services include: 'Legal Services'; 'Government Relations And Lobbying Support'; 'Communications And Rapid Response'; 'War Room Style Media Monitoring', which monitors a wide-range of media platforms on a continuous basis; and 'Campaign Style Opposition Research', which, it says provides clients with 'dossiers on opponents, competitors and agitators'.<ref>[https://www.definersdc.com/3d-global-affairs 3D Global Affairs], Definers website, accessed Feb 2018</ref>
-==Targeting opponents==
+==America Rising: an 'opposition research factory'==
-Definers partners [[Matt Rhoades]] and [[Joe Pounder]] started [[America Rising]], a political action committee, or PAC that, according to reports in ''Mother Jones'' and the ''New York Times'' 'specialises in helping [Republican] party candidates and conservative groups find damaging information on political rivals. Definers and [[Amercia Rising]] share several top executives. Pounder is its president and Definers vice president [[Allan L. Blutstein]] has also worked with [[America Rising]].
+Definers partners [[Matt Rhoades]] founded [[America Rising]], a political action committee, or PAC that, according to reports in ''Mother Jones'' and the ''New York Times'' 'specialises in helping [Republican] party candidates and conservative groups find damaging information on political rivals.
 In December 2017, the ''New York Times'' reported that Blutstein had prepared a series of Freedom of Information requests targeting employees of the US [[Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) who had questioned the way the agency was being run. According to Eric Lipton's report in the ''New York Times'':<ref>Eric Lipton, [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email], New York Times, 17 Dec 2017</ref>

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 Pounder has been described as 'one of the most powerful people in Washington, D.C. for his ability to influence the national news cycle' and as a 'master of opposition research'.<ref>[https://www.definersdc.com/joe-pounder Joe Pounder profile], Definers website, accessed Feb 2018</ref>
-It is based in Washington, but opened up shop in Silicon Valley in 2017 targeting the tech sector. Tim Miller of Definers said that the Valley’s biggest brands should invest more to ensure 'you have positive content pushed out about your company and negative content that’s being pushed out about your competitor, or regulator, or activist groups or activist investors, that are challenging you.'<ref>[https://www.recode.net/2017/6/7/15746928/republicans-political-opposition-tech-silicon-valley-trump Republican political operatives want to sell the dark arts of opposition research to tech companies], Recode, 7 June 2017</ref>
+It is based in Washington but also opened up in Silicon Valley in 2017 targeting the tech sector. Tim Miller of Definers said that the Valley’s biggest brands should invest more to ensure 'you have positive content pushed out about your company and negative content that’s being pushed out about your competitor, or regulator, or activist groups or activist investors, that are challenging you.'<ref>[https://www.recode.net/2017/6/7/15746928/republicans-political-opposition-tech-silicon-valley-trump Republican political operatives want to sell the dark arts of opposition research to tech companies], Recode, 7 June 2017</ref>
 ==UK expansion in time for Brexit==
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 ==Law firm tie up==
-Definers has linked up with US law giant [[Dentons]] to provide a joint offereing – '3D Global Affairs' – which, it says, 'allows clients to be the disruptor by combining political intelligence, legal advisors, campaign-style tactics, lobbying, governmental affairs, research, and communications into one unique offering'.<ref>[https://www.definersdc.com/3d-global-affairs 3D Global Affairs], Definers website, accessed Feb 2018</ref>
+Definers has linked up with US law giant [[Dentons]] to provide a joint offering – '3D Global Affairs' – which, it says, 'allows clients to be the disruptor by combining political intelligence, legal advisors, campaign-style tactics, lobbying, governmental affairs, research, and communications into one unique offering'.<ref>[https://www.definersdc.com/3d-global-affairs 3D Global Affairs], Definers website, accessed Feb 2018</ref>
 Services they provide promise to 'disrupt The Political, Regulatory, And Communications Environment Over The Long-Term' for clients. Its services include: 'Legal Services'; 'Government Relations And Lobbying Support'; 'Communications And Rapid Response'; 'War Room Style Media Monitoring', which monitors a wide-range of media platforms on a continuous basis; and 'Campaign Style Opposition Research', which, it says provides clients with 'dossiers on opponents, competitors and agitators'.<ref>[https://www.definersdc.com/3d-global-affairs 3D Global Affairs], Definers website, accessed Feb 2018</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:13, 1 March 2018
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	Pounder has been described as 'one of the most powerful people in Washington, D.C. for his ability to influence the national news cycle' and as a 'master of opposition research'.<ref>[https://www.definersdc.com/joe-pounder Joe Pounder profile], Definers website, accessed Feb 2018</ref>		Pounder has been described as 'one of the most powerful people in Washington, D.C. for his ability to influence the national news cycle' and as a 'master of opposition research'.<ref>[https://www.definersdc.com/joe-pounder Joe Pounder profile], Definers website, accessed Feb 2018</ref>
		+
		+	It is based in Washington, but opened up shop in Silicon Valley in 2017 targeting the tech sector. Tim Miller of Definers said that the Valley’s biggest brands should invest more to ensure 'you have positive content pushed out about your company and negative content that’s being pushed out about your competitor, or regulator, or activist groups or activist investors, that are challenging you.'<ref>[https://www.recode.net/2017/6/7/15746928/republicans-political-opposition-tech-silicon-valley-trump Republican political operatives want to sell the dark arts of opposition research to tech companies], Recode, 7 June 2017</ref>

	==UK expansion in time for Brexit==		==UK expansion in time for Brexit==