The 1792 Exchange, a dark money group that focuses on attacking “woke capitalism,” recently published the final piece in a five-part sponsored series attacking responsible investing on Breitbart – a misinformation platform with a history of lawsuits over its amplification of dangerous conspiracy theories.
The pay-for-play content featured a video interview between Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow and 1792 Exchange CEO Daniel Cameron, a former Kentucky Attorney General and failed gubernatorial candidate who is notorious for supporting a near-total abortion ban and restricting access to contraception in the state.
Below is an outline of the most audacious claims made in the series alongside fact checks debunking the misinformation.
Part 1: Cameron claimed that companies engaging in responsible investing are “hurting shareholders,” including teachers, firefighters, and police officers with pensions.
- Fact: Research continues to show that sustainable funds have comparable, if not better, financial returns to traditional funds with less downside risk, with nearly 80% of impact investors reporting that their financial performance meets or exceeds their targets. More than half of Fortune 500 CEOs say that focusing on climate change will “open up new markets” and “improve relations with shareholders.”
- Fact: Anti-ESG bills proposed in Texas, Indiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma were projected to cost state pension plans billions of dollars.
Part 2: Cameron attacked the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, a report widely relied on by businesses and consumers to gauge companies’ treatment of LGBTQ+ employees.
- Fact: 1792 Exchange’s leadership is tied to extreme right wing organizations like the Family Research Council, an anti-LGTBQ+ organization that has been known to spread misinformation about the LGBTQ+ community, including referring to the transgender rights movement as a cult “like scientology,” as well as Mark Meadows’ Conservative Partnership Institute, an organization known for its efforts to restrict voting rights. The 1792 Exchange has additionally taken money from The Servant Foundation, which has also given $50 million to the extreme, SPLC-designated hate group Alliance Defending Freedom.
Part 3: Cameron accused asset managers like BlackRock of “wanting to destroy the fossil fuel industry.”
- Fact: Blackrock and many other of the world’s largest financial investment institutions have repeatedly made clear they are not divesting from the energy industry, but cannot ignore the material opportunities presented by responsible investing. BlackRock has publicly reinforced that “fighting climate change will be a generational investment opportunity.”
Part 4: Cameron claimed the ‘S’ in ‘ESG’ “S” in ESG – “Social” – is a tool for shoving America into adopting woke ideology in the workplace.
- Fact: Companies with good ESG scores tend to have higher returns. Studies show that, similar to global findings, “the relative performance by top-rated ESG companies was nearly 50% stronger than their lower-rated counterparts.” Most Americans support DEI-focused policies in their workplaces and factors like board gender diversity have been shown to improve returns for investors.
Part 5: Cameron suggested that corporate shifts towards sustainability are forcing everyone “inside a corporation to be a drone when it comes to specific issues.”
- Fact: The American public broadly and across party lines support corporations’ efforts to invest responsibly, and 70% of Republicans oppose government interference on this. Data also shows a majority of voters are worried “supporters of ESG bans do not care about the well-being of the middle class or American workers,” and nearly 60% say they are concerned billionaire donors are “pouring money” into the interest groups and politicians supporting these bans.
