Our newest report, “Koch Funded Moral Panic: Ultra Right Think Tanks and Critical Race Theory,” analyzes published materials from Koch network think tanks and reveals that the anti-Critical Race Theory movement is a product of a coordinated dark money campaign. 

We reviewed the published materials of 28 think tanks and political organizations affiliated with the Koch network and analyzed the rhetorical tactics Koch network think tanks have deployed around Critical Race Theory(CRT) and their efforts to ban it from public schools. During the investigation period, we found that Koch network think tanks published 146 articles, podcasts, reports, or videos about CRT. 

Koch-affiliated national think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, FreedomWorks, and the Manhattan Institute, among others, have used their influence to generate and spread talking points, briefed state and federal legislators on model policy, and attempted to generate grassroots mobilization against local school districts. This influence is not without consequence: State politicians were almost entirely silent on the topic until Koch-funded entities started pushing the issue earlier this year. Now, more than 25 states have introduced legislation or taken other action that, backers claim, is aimed at banning “critical race theory” (CRT) from schools and government programs. Several of these states have already passed these bills.

 We’ve repeatedly seen the damage that occurs when the Koch network influences institutions for the common good, from higher education to our courts. We cannot allow them to continue infiltrating our public education system by capturing curriculum and spreading disinformation.