Angelo Carusone, also known as @StopRush, recently launched a Twitter campaign to dissuade advertisers from promoting their products on Rush Limbaugh’s daily radio show.
Carusone likes to portray his actions as spontaneous grassroots social movement campaigning against hate and vitriol. However, Carusone works at Media Matters for America employed as a Campaign Director. Media Matters is a well known liberal website constantly attacking everything and anything known as conservative media.
Although launched just this weekend, Carusone has been planning this campaign for some time now. He has owned the @StopRush twitter identity since January 2010, publicly stating while campaigning for his @StopBeck movement on several liberal and progressive blogs and web radio shows in the past, that he has had similar campaigns planned for Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and Sean Hannity.
Most recently, Limbaugh has come under criticism for comments made about Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown law student who recently complained to Congress that some students at Georgetown University have to pay out-of-pocket for birth control expenses.
Carusone may be best known for a similar campaign waged for over two years against another familiar conservative radio talk show host and television personality Glenn Beck. He takes credit (along with others) for removing Beck from his daily Fox News television show. He manages a companion campaign, Drop Fox, on behalf of Media Matters.
Todd
Author Update: Two newspaper articles, one from the NY Times and another from the NY Mag refer to Carusone as a concerned citizen and activist. Both stories conveniently leave out that he is a Media Matters employee. Certainly important to any reader.
Tags: Angelo Carusone, glenn beck, Media Matters, Rush Limbaugh, Sandra Fluke, Stop Beck
Recently, I posted this blog regarding Media Matters for America employee, Angelo Carusone. Carusone, in conflict with Internal Revenue Service regulations concerning non-profits, tweets about Presidential candidates on his @StopBeck account. Internal Revenue Service regulations are very clear. Specifically, 501(c)3 organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.
This comment was posted shortly after publication:
You are a fool. Angelo is an individual without a tax status. The IRS tax rules for non profits don’t apply to their employees person [sic] Twitter accounts even if they Tweet about work. [emphasis added] Has it occurred to any of you wingers that there are groups on the right doing exactly what Media Matters does but from the opposite perspective? You are all wasting your time. Then again, that’s probably a good thing. Keep it going!
The commenter who identified himself only as You Dolt suggests that Carusone’s Media Matters for America (MMFA) tweets are protected from Internal Revenue Service scrutiny and regulations because Carusone’s @StopBeck profile is personal and therefore not a Media Matters account.
Claiming Carusone’s @StopBeck twitter account is personal and not Media Matters work product is a terrific charade. Clearly this account produces MMFA work product:
- Carusone used this account to persuade Beck advertisers from advertising on Beck’s Fox television show
- He uses this account to contact Beck’s radio advertisers
- He uses this account to tweet about Glenn Beck
- He uses this account to tweet about Fox News
- He uses this account to promote @Drop_Fox, an MMFA product
- He uses this account to promote articles he has written for MMFA and links to other MMFA articles
- He uses this account to communicate with MMFA employees
- He uses this account to tweet about George Soros (an MMFA benefactor)
- He uses this account during work hours at MMFA
- He identifies @StopBeck as his primary account
Perhaps the most damaging/convincing aspect to show that this is an MMFA work account and not a personal account is how he identifies this account (as if the name Stop Beck is not enough):
Is MMFA misleading the IRS by claiming that Carusone’s @StopBeck account is personal and are they doing this with other MMFA employee social media accounts?
Todd
@ideapalooza
ideapalooza.com
Tags: Angelo Carusone, Media Matters
I filed my fourth 13909 Tax Exempt Organization Complaint Form with the Internal Revenue Service regarding Media Matters for America. Media Matters for America is organized as a tax exempt 501(c)3 organization. Under IRS guidelines, they must abide by several rules to maintain this status.
My complaint specifically dealt with a Media Matters employee, Angelo Carusone, known on Twitter among other things as @StopBeck. Carusone manages this politically charged twitter account and has complete disregard for the IRS rules governing campaign restrictions. Specifically, 501(c)3 organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.
My first complaint form contained twelve such communications and this one contained three:
The Internal Revenue Service has a complaint form 13909 Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral) Form that is one page in length. The form comes with easy to follow instructions and then can be mailed, faxed, or emailed to the IRS office. I have taken the liberty to complete the initial heading of the form to include Media Matters for America’s mailing address and tax ID number in order to assist any submitter with completing the complaint form. You may download this form here. I do suggest that you familiarize yourself with the IRS guidelines for 501(c)3 organizations here although this is not necessary in order to complete the form.
Todd
ideapalooza.com
@ideapalooza
Tags: Angelo Carusone, Media Matters
Media Matters for America is organized as a tax exempt 501(c)3 organization. Under IRS guidelines, they must abide by several rules to maintain this status. Specifically, 501(c)3 organizations are subject to many restrictions by law.
I recently filed my third IRS Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint Form 13909 against Media Matters for America. My specific complaints were regarding statements made by CEO David Brock and Executive Vice President Ari Rabin-Havt. Does the spirit of the law allow Media Matters tax exempt status to disrupt private organizations ability to conduct commerce or a private citizen the right to produce legitimate income? Clearly Media Matters wants to do both. Here is a summary of the information I sent to the Internal Revenue Service regarding statements made by Media Matter’s executive officers to The Politico on March 26, 2011:
- Rabin-Havt told Politico that Media Matters was compiling “opposition research” files on “mid- and senior-level execs and producers” [at Fox News].
- Rabin-Havt also stated “We made a list of every single person who works for Fox and tried to figure out who might be disgruntled and why, and we went out to try to meet them, somebody in that organization is giving us primary source documents.”
- Brock described in an interview as an all-out campaign of “guerrilla warfare and sabotage” aimed at the Fox News Channel.
- Brock said, is assembling opposition research files not only on Fox’s top executives but on a series of mid level officials. It has hired an activist who has led a successful campaign to press advertisers to avoid Glenn Beck’s show. The group is assembling a legal team to help people who have clashed with Fox to file lawsuits for defamation, invasion of privacy or other causes.
The Internal Revenue Service has a complaint form 13909 Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral) Form that is one page in length. The form comes with easy to follow instructions and then can be mailed, faxed, or emailed to the IRS office. I have taken the liberty to complete the initial heading of the form to include Media Matters for America’s mailing address and tax ID number in order to assist any submitter with completing the complaint form. You may download this form here. I do suggest that you familiarize yourself with the IRS guidelines for 501(c)3 organizations here although this is not necessary in order to complete the form.
You can watch Juan Williams discussing this very matter (source The Blaze.com):
You can view specifics of my previous complaints in this post.
Todd
@ideapalooza
ideapalooza.com
Tags: Media Matters
