Ex-Enron Exec Slammed by Republicans for Bankrolling Censorship Efforts

Ex-Enron executive and billionaire John Arnold is under fire from Texas Republicans for reportedly funneling millions into groups trying to censor supposed “disinformation.” Ironically, Enron is the same company that went bankrupt from corruption and fraud.

Two Republican lawmakers criticized Arnold’s donations in comments to the Washington Examiner. His more than $13.7 million total in donations helped fund leftist efforts to censor conservatives.

Arnold Ventures LLC, which manages financial giving for multiple entities, claims to be nonpartisan but has funded a number of pro-censorship organizations. “This is another example of the dark money ecosystem pushing its own interpretation of disinformation,” insisted Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX). Texas State Rep. Brian Harrison (R) also slammed Arnold “funding groups that undermine” free speech.

For instance, Arnold’s LLC donated to research nonprofit MapLight, which was also funded in 2018 with $150,000 by leftist billionaire George Soros. MapLight, which describes itself as “Technology for Democracy,” published a “Voter Empowerment Plan” memo before the 2022 midterms with the primary priority to“[r]educe the quantity, spread, and impact of electoral disinformation.”

Arnold Ventures also gave money to Lenfest Institute for Journalism, a Philadelphia-based media funder. The Institute has partnered with leftist NewsGuard for several reports, the Examiner noted. MRC Free Speech America’s original studies showed how pro-censorship and skewed NewsGuard’s phony ratings system is.