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Welcome to Powerbase - your guide to networks of power, lobbying and deceptive PR
Powerbase is a free guide to networks of power, lobbying, public relations and the communications activities of governments and other interests. It is a project of Public Interest Investigations and Spinwatch. Read more... Help us expose corporate capture, political spin and lies We always welcome new contributors - read how you can sign up as user. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Donations Powerbase is run on a tiny budget, and many contributors kindly give their time for free. If you find these resources useful, please consider donating to help us cover our modest overheads. Thank you. Get in touch Powerbase is overseen by an editor, managing editor and associate portal editors. We have a policy of strict referencing and on dealing with corrections.
Powerbase portals
Alcohol | Brexit (new!) | Climate | Counter-Terrorism | Counterjihad | Finance Lobbying | Foodspin | Fracking | GMWatch | Health | Israel Lobby | Lobbying | MEPedia | Mining and Metals | Neoconservatives | Northern Ireland | Nuclear Spin | Pharma | Propaganda | The Revolving Door | Schools | Scotland | Spooks | State Violence and Collusion Project | Terror Expertise | Think Tanks | Water | and hosting since 2015...the Undercover Research Group | Brexit Portal - NEW! Our new guide to Brexit lobbying aims to shed light on the people and organisations jostling for position to use this 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' to advance their own interests. We reveal the networks of lobbyists-for-hire and think tanks working for big business and the politicians aiding them. Read more... Fracking Portal {{#ev:youtube|https://youtu.be/toTLr2yIJ5E%7C450%7Ccenter%7CWatch and share: 'Meet the Frackers: a Spinwatch lobbying tour'}} Our Fracking Portal tracks the companies, people and lobbyists behind the all-out push for shale gas exploration in the UK and worldwide. It sheds light on who is influencing the debate over fracking and the tactics used to persuade the public and our politicians. Read more... Schools Portal Our Schools Portal examines the vast global education industry that has sprung up to profit from our schools. It has been described as ‘the largest market opportunity’ since healthcare was privatised. 'Let's all go forth. Let's all make hay,' as one private equity investor at a 2015 UK conference succinctly put it. Read more Propaganda, conflict and war {{#ev:vimeo|https:// vimeo.com/219533611|450|center|Watch: What is Propaganda? }}Powerbase focuses on communication, spin and propaganda in party politics and in war and peace. The database contains collections of articles on British propaganda, counterinsurgency, the neoconservatives, terror experts and the associated terrorism industry, which can influence public opinion and policy in the 'war on terror'. It also documents disinformation and covert action by states, intelligence agencies, and their networks. Propaganda | Terror Experts and institutions | Neoconservative networks Regional conflicts Israel Lobby | The Conflict in the North of Ireland | Iraq War 2003 | Targeting Iran The alcohol industry and policy Powerbase's alcohol portal examines governance processes on alcohol and public policy. It reveals the connections between the industry and public policymakers and their relationships with the media, scientists. We focus largely on the alcohol industry - and its personnel, and aim to expose its links with alcohol lobby groups and alcohol lobbyists and PR people. We review current research and debates within the field. The role alcohol science and scientists play in the policy process is also examined. We also cover the alcohol NGOs, which are often poorly funded and struggle to raise public health issues against the plethora of other alcohol policy groups and the often covertly industry-funded alcohol front groups. Visit all pages on alcohol in the alcohol category. Elite networks and corporate power Transnational Corporations: The organisations pushing corporate globalisation. Scotland: think tanks and lobbyists pushing corporate interests in Scotland. New Labour nexus: New Labour- and other market-friendly think tanks in Britain. Corporate Power in Britain: the main corporate lobby groups in Britain. Who Rules America? A guide to the power networks of the USA. Industry sectors Alcohol | Big Pharma | Foodspin | GM | Nuclear Spin | Water Industry Lobbying: How corporations and special interests pull strings | Corporate Memberships Database: The lobby groups funded by the largest corporations | PR and lobbying consultancies client database: Check up on who PR and lobbying firms work for. Popular portals and articles Powerbase's most popular pages include: Lobbying regulation - chronology 2010-2019 portals on Nuclear Spin, Neoconservatives, GM, Alcohol, Lobbying and Terrorism expertise profiles on British think tanks such as Policy Exchange, the Henry Jackson Society: Project for Democratic Geopolitics, Civitas, Centre for Social Cohesion‏‎, Quilliam Foundation‏‎, Sense About Science‏‎ and the Science Media Centre US think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute‏‎ profiles on the libertarian Living Marxism Network and spiked magazine Getting Started We welcome new contributors to Powerbase. To contribute, you first need to register. Send an email to melissa.jones AT Powerbase.info saying who you are and your interests. If you are approved we'll send you a username and password that allows you to log in and edit or add material. Research and writing tips How to research front groups | Resources for studying propaganda | Research using the web If you're unsure of where to start, you could expand some recently created but currently brief articles. Take a look at the recent changes page to see some 'stubs' - articles that may just be a line or two and need fleshing out. Or check out the automatically updated page which includes pages flagged by Powerbase editors as most wanted. See also our Things you can do to help page. If you'd like some suggestions closer to your interests, please email Powerbase's managing editor. Start Here View The Latest Articles View Articles By Category View The Most Popular Articles Create An Account Or Log In Change Your Preferences Write a new Article Powerbase history Powerbase was originally set up by Spinwatch in 2010 in collaboration with Lobbywatch, GM Watch Red Star Research and Corporate Watch, but put into effect by a wide variety of volunteers and independent researchers. Contributors are now working on 19,413 articles. Disclaimer: Powerbase is an encyclopedia of people, issues and groups shaping the public agenda. It is a project of the non-profit Public Interest Investigations—email melissa.jones AT Powerbase.info. Antispam note: To avoid attracting spam email robots, email addresses on Powerbase are written with AT in place of the usual symbol, and we have removed "mail to" links. Replace AT with the correct symbol to get a valid address. Read the full disclaimer