Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

by Jane Mayer

FreedomWorks, it was later revealed, also had some hired help. The tax-exempt organization quietly cemented a deal with Glenn Beck, the incendiary right-wing Fox News television host who at the time was a Tea Party superstar. For an annual payment that eventually topped $1 million, Beck read “embedded content” written by the FreedomWorks staff. They told him what to say on the air, and he blended the promotional material seamlessly into his monologue, making it sound as if it were his own opinion. The arrangement was described on FreedomWorks’ tax disclosures as “advertising services.” “We thought it would be a useful tool if it was done in moderation, but then they started doing it by leaps and bounds,” Armey recalled about the arrangement. “They were keeping it secret from their activists and supporters,” he alleged. “They were creating an illusion that they were so important this icon, this hero of the movement, was bragging about them. Instead of earning the media, they were paying for it.”