The Vermont Democratic Party filed a complaint against True North Radio, Inc. for failing to file legally required lobbying disclosure reports. The focus of the complaint is an ad that True North ran on WCAX Television for at least a week during the legislative session.
“True North Radio’s ad was packed with far right conspiracy mongering and lies,” said VDP Executive Director Jim Dandeneau. “And as cheap and poorly produced as the advertisement was, it clearly cost more than $1000 to produce and place on the air, putting Vermont’s premiere far right lobbying group in violation of state law.”
This ad, which seems to target S.5 – or the Affordable Heat Act – contained partisan falsehoods, conspiracy mongering about older, already-passed climate legislation, and echoed misinformation about the current bill spread by Governor Phil Scott and his Republican allies. The goal of the ad appears to be to promote false information about the bill in order to sway public opinion and legislative action on S.5. Clearly a partisan attack, this ad violates Vermonter’s trust and their right to transparency from political and news organizations.
True North Radio and their treasurer, far-right megadonor Lenore Broughton, failed to file the required 48-hour Advertising Disclosure for the ad they produced. They produced an ad that blatantly lies to the public. Vermont deserves to know the truth about True North Radio and its investors’ spending and influence on the legislature. We hope this complaint results in getting Vermonters the truth they deserve.