Public Interest Investigations

From WikiCorporates
(Redirected from Powerbase)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Public Interest Investigations (PII) carries out cutting-edge research into key social, political, environmental and health issues in the UK and Europe.

"Our work is underpinned by two key projects - this site, Spinwatch.org and a research wiki Powerbase.info, which focuses on the networks of powerful individuals and institutions shaping the public agenda."

Public Interest Investigations is an independent non-profit making organisation. founded in 2004, PII promotes greater understanding of the role of PR, propaganda and lobbying and of the power networks that they support, through its website Spinwatch (www. spinwatch.org) and its investigative wiki site Powerbase (www.powerbase.info). Spinwatch is a founder member of ALTER-EU, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation in the EU; ALT-UK, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency UK; and SALT, the Scottish Alliance for Lobbying Transparency.

People

David Miller is a director of Public Interest Investigations, of which Spinwatch.org and Powerbase.info are projects. He is also Professor of Sociology at the University of Bath. From 2013-2016 he was RCUK Global Uncertainties Leadership fellow, leading a project on Understanding and explaining terrorism expertise in practice.

ref, p.2

Powerbase

Powerbase is a venture initiated by Spinwatch in collaboration with Lobbywatch, § GMWatch, Red Star Research and Corporate Watch, but put into effect by a wide variety of volunteers and independent researchers. Founded in 2005 as SpinProfiles, it was shut down without explanation; ref Powerbase rose from the ashes.
Powerbase is a free encyclopedia of people, issues, and groups shaping the public agenda that is being written collaboratively. It catalogues descriptions and details of PR firms, activist groups and govt agencies, as well as the criticisms that are made of these groups from different perspectives.

Spinwatch

Spinwatch investigates the way that the public relations (PR) industry and corporate and government propaganda distort public debate and undermine democracy. The PR and lobbying industry in the UK is the second biggest in the world, worth £7.5bn. As the go-to organisation for information on this field, we routinely track PR and lobbying firms and corporate front groups, exposing their spin and deception.ref

GM Watch

GMWatch seeks to counter the enormous corporate political power and propaganda of the GMO industry and its supporters. It does this through its website, email lists, Powerbase portal, LobbyWatch, social media (Twitter and Facebook), and other outreach and campaigning activities. GMWatch was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Matthews and its managing editors are Jonathan Matthews and Claire Robinson.

  • Jan.03.2019: EU Commission approves "monster" maize for import. Just before Christmas, the EU Commission approved the import of a Bayer-Monsanto genetically engineered maize that produces 6 insecticidal Bt toxins, despite recent scientific findings indicating substantial risks to the immune system from Bt toxins. Testbiotech said, “The EU Commission respects neither science nor the precautionary principle. There are substantial reasons to assume that consumption of the genetically engineered maize can lead to adverse effects on health". The European Food Safety Authority EFSA and the EU Commission have completely ignored combinatorial effects of the insecticidal toxins and the residues from spraying, which can lead to much higher toxicity than is known from the single compounds. more... GM Watch.

Articles

Spinwatch have some videos on YouTube, well worth watching, YouTube

  • Jul.24.2018: The UAE Lobby: Subverting British democracy? Since the Arab Spring, a highly sophisticated, aggressive and clandestine UAE political lobby has emerged to head off the threat of democracy in the Middle East. We examine the domestic and regional factors which saw the lobby evolve, its impact on the UK and US and how it’s used to undermine, vilify and smear groups and individuals that pose a perceived ideological and political threat to that country. the UAE’s intense lobbying campaign over the last few years has helped shape UK government policy towards Muslims at home, and UK and US foreign policy in the Middle East. It has also polluted the narrative on Islam in the west, whipping up Islamophobia and hardening media coverage and public opinion against Muslims. SpinWatch.