About

The internet, social media, and smart devices have democratized the way people around the globe share and consume information, spurring the creation of powerful digital platforms used by billions of people. But such platforms have also enabled the unchecked spread of half-truths and propaganda -- a trend that threatens to undermine social liberties here and abroad. 

   

The Moonlight Foundation is a nonpartisan, investigative nonprofit that aims to offset the dark side of information technology by digging for facts, promoting transparency and holding to account the forces behind the misinformation that are driving people apart. We want to be a source of light.

  

Democracies cannot function when citizens and the electorate have no common agreement on basic facts -- about science, the law and the paths we need to follow for solutions to the nation's most challenging problems. But mounting evidence shows that many organizations and individuals benefit financially and politically from divisive rhetoric and conspiracy theories. All too often, they hide the purpose or the funding behind their claims.  

 

The Moonlight Foundation investigators have dedicated themselves to exposing such claims and revealing the motivation behind them. We believe this is not merely a choice, it is a necessity: an essential part of good government and civil society. Our organization is comprised of trained investigators with years of experience at watchdog organizations, Congress, news outlets and Fortune 10 companies.  

  

The idea for the Moonlight Foundation germinated during a nighttime hike in 2019, when a nearly full moon provided the only illumination for a small group of people walking on a trail in the Sierra Nevada mountains. One of them, our executive director, was struck by how the reflected light enabled the group to find its way through the dark. 

  

The Moonlight Foundation wants to help provide illumination for the common good, using its investigative team to find the facts and tell the truth about the people and groups that spew false information from the shadows.