A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, criminal organizations, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations. An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to the Information gathering (known in the context as " intelligence " "Crime syndicate" redirects here For the DC Comics group of villains see Crime Syndicate. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business Front organizations can act for the parent group without the actions being attributed to the parent group. Front organizations that appear to be independent voluntary or charitable associations are called front groups. In the business world, front organizations such as front companies or shell corporations are used to shield the parent company from legal liability. A shell Corporation is defined in Barron's Finance & Investment Handbook as "a company that is incorporated but has no significant assets or operations In international relations, a puppet state is a state which acts as a front (or surrogate) for another state. A puppet state is a State that is nominally independent but in reality under the control of another power A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population.

Contents 1 Intelligence agencies 2 Organized crime 3 Religious organizations 4 Politics 4.1 Pro-Israel lobbying fronts 4.2 Gun control lobbying fronts 4.3 Islamist front organizations 4.4 Apartheid government fronts 4.5 Communist fronts 4.6 Animal rights groups 5 Banned paramilitary organizations 6 Corporate front organizations 6.1 Astroturfing 7 References 7.1 Further reading 8 See also

Intelligence agencies

Intelligence agencies use front organizations to provide "cover", plausible occupations and means of income, for their covert agents. These may include legitimate organizations, such as charity, religious or journalism organizations; or brass plate firms which exist solely to provide a plausible background story, occupation, and means of income.

The airline Air America, an outgrowth of Civil Air Transport of the 1940s, and Southern Air Transport, ostensibly a civilian air charter company, were operated and wholly owned by the CIA, supposedly to provide humanitarian aid, but flew many combat support missions and supplied covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Second Indochina War. Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA from 1950 to 1976 Civil Air Transport (CAT was a Chinese airline later owned by the CIA, that supported United States Covert operation throughout East and Southern Air Transport was the name of two Airlines in the United States. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all Humanitarian aid (also called succour) is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes typically in response to humanitarian crises A covert operation is a Military or political activity carried out in such a way that the parties responsible for the action can be an Open secret, but The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia ^[1] Other CIA-funded front groups have been used to spread American propaganda and influence during the Cold War, particularly in the Third World. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Third World is a name given to nations that are generally considered to be underdeveloped economically ^[2] When intelligence agencies work through legitimate organizations, it can cause problems and increased risk for the workers of those organizations. ^[3] To prevent this, the CIA has had a 20-year policy of not using Peace Corps members or US journalists for Intelligence purposes. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all The Peace Corps is an independent United States federal agency. ^{[4] [5]}

See also: Non-official cover and Agent handling#Fronts and cutouts

Organized crime

Many organized crime operations have substantial legitimate businesses, such as licensed gambling houses, building construction companies, trash hauling services, or dock loading enterprises. Non-official cover ( NOC) is a term used in Espionage (particularly by national intelligence services for agents or operatives who assume covert roles in organizations Agent handler is a generic term common to many intelligence organizations which can be applied to Case Officers those who aspire to be Case officers "controllers" contacts "Crime syndicate" redirects here For the DC Comics group of villains see Crime Syndicate. These front companies enable these criminal organizations to launder their income from illegal activities. Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial Transactions in order to conceal the Identity, source and/or destination of Money, As well, the front companies provide plausible cover for illegal activities such as drug trafficking, smuggling, and prostitution. The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global Black market consisting of the cultivation manufacture distribution and sale of illegal Drugs Smuggling, also known as trafficking, is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons past a point where prohibited such as out of a building into a Prison Prostitution is the act of performing Sexual activity in exchange for Money.

Where brothels are illegal, criminal organizations set up front companies providing services such as a "massage parlor" or "sauna", up to the point that "massage parlor" or "sauna" is thought as a synonym of brothel in these countries. For the 2008 film of this name see The Brothel. For the television series of this name see Cathouse The Series. For the 2008 film of this name see The Brothel. For the television series of this name see Cathouse The Series.

Religious organizations

Some religious organizations use front groups either to promote their interests in politics or to make their group seem more legitimate. The Church of Scientology is one such organization; the FBI's July 7, 1977 raids on the Church's offices (following discovery of the Church's Operation Snow White) turned up, among other documents, an undated memo entitled "PR General Categories of Data Needing Coding". The Church of Scientology is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Operation Snow White was the Church of Scientology 's name for a project during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder L This memo listed what it called "Secret PR Front Groups," which included the group APRL, "Alliance for the Preservation of Religious Liberty" (later renamed "Americans Preserving Religious Liberty"). ^[6] The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) is considered by many to now be a front group for the Church of Scientology, which took the group over financially after bankrupting it in a series of lawsuits. The Cult Awareness Network (CAN was founded in the wake of the November 18, 1978 deaths of members of the group Peoples Temple and Assassination ^[7][8][9]

Time identified several other fronts for Scientology, including: the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), The Way to Happiness Foundation, Applied Scholastics, the Concerned Businessmen's Association of America, and HealthMed Clinic[1]. See also Scientology and psychiatry The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR also sometimes known as the Citizens The Way to Happiness is a 1980 booklet written by Scientology founder L Applied Scholastics is a Non-profit corporation founded in 1972 to promote the use of study techniques created by L Concerned Businessmen's Association of America (CBAA founded in 1983 is an element of the Scientology movement directed at promoting moral education and "enhanced well-being" Seven years later the Boston Herald showed how Narconon and World Literacy Crusade are also fronting for Scientology[2]. This article is about Narconon the substance abuse treatment program associated with the Church of Scientology. World Literacy Crusade (WLC is a non-profit group fighting illiteracy formed in 1992 by the Rev Other Scientology groups include Downtown Medical, Criminon and the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE). Downtown Medical, also known as the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project is a controversial Scientology clinic on 139 Fulton Street in New York City, founded Criminon is a program for rehabilitating Prisoners using L Ron Hubbard 's teachings The Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE is a Non-profit organization headquartered in Los Angeles California.

Politics

Pro-Israel lobbying fronts

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has been accused of using front organizations as a means of circumventing limits on campaign spending^[10] These front organizations have names unrelated to AIPAC. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee ( AIPAC) is an American Lobbying group that advocates for pro- Israel policies to the Congress and Campaign finance refers to the means by which money is raised for election campaigns. Delaware Valley Good Government Association (Philadelphia), San Franciscans for Good Government (California), Beaver PAC (Wisconsin), Cactus PAC (Arizona), and Icepac (New York) are examples of former AIPAC front groups. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous ^[11]

Gun control lobbying fronts

Many in the gun rights movement claim that the American Hunters and Shooters Association is a front for gun control groups aimed at dividing gun owners into the sport-oriented and the self-defense oriented. The Militia movement is an unorganized Political movement of Paramilitary groups in the United States that claim legitimacy under the Militia The American Hunters and Shooters Association ( AHSA) is an organization involved in advocacy for gun control founded to more effectively promote the efforts of the Brady Self-defense (or self-defence &mdash see spelling differences) is the act of defending oneself one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm

Islamist front organizations

See also: Terrorist front organization

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is regarded by many scholars and intelligence agencies to be front organizations based on their founding ties to known Islamist or terrorist organizations like Hamas. A terrorist front organization is created to conceal activities or provide logistical or financial support to the illegal activities The Council on American-Islamic Relations ( CAIR) is a Civil liberties and advocacy group for Muslims in North America that was Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة ^[12][13] Rep. Cass Ballenger of North Carolina has stated that CAIR is a "fund-raising arm for Hezbollah" in an interview with the Charlotte Observer published 4 October 2003. Thomas Cass Ballenger (born December 6, 1926) is an American politician Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. CAIR official Todd "Ismail" Royer was convicted of conspiring to train on American soil for violent jihad. CAIR officials Rabih Haddad, Bassem Khafagi and Ghassan Elashi have all been convicted of conspiring to fund Islamic terrorist groups. Ghassan Elashi was a founder of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF and was a member of the founding board of directors of the Texas branch of the ^[14][15]

Hezbollah, the Lebanese anti-Israel guerilla army runs many front organizations for fundraising, including the Al-Mabarrat organization in Dearborn. Hezbollah (حزب الله, literally " party of God " is a Shi'a Islamic political and Paramilitary organisation Dearborn is a city in the US state of Michigan. It is located in the Detroit metropolitan area and Wayne County, and is the tenth largest ^[16][17] Hezbollah also has been implicated in counterfeiting. A counterfeit is an imitation that is made usually with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins ^[18][19]

Other Islamist front organizations used to gather money for terrorist groups (including al-Qaeda), or accused of doing so, include the Global Relief Foundation, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, Al Barakaat, Benevolence International Foundation, and Konsojaya Trading Company. Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The The Global Relief Foundation (GRF also known as Fondation Secours Mondial or FSM was an Islamic charity based in Bridgeview IL until it was raided and shut down on December The Holy Land Foundation was the largest Islamic charity in the United States. al-Barakat or al-Barakaat (which means "The Blessed" in Arabic) is a group of companies established in Somalia in 1986 The Benevolence International Foundation ( BIF) was a purported nonprofit Charitable trust based in Saudi Arabia. The Konsojaya Trading Company was a shell company cofounded by Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as "Hambali" and his Malaysian In the UK, the Muslim Association of Britain has been accused of being a front for or connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB is a Muslim group in the United Kingdom established in 1997. The Muslim Brothers ( Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimūn, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان ^[20]

Apartheid government fronts

South Africa's apartheid-era government used numerous front organizations to influence world opinion and to undertake extra-judicial activities and the killing of anti-apartheid activists; these included^[21] the following:

• The Citizen - funded secretly by government, intended to challenge the liberal Rand Daily Mail, contributing to the political ruin of John Vorster and Connie Mulder
• Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB) - a covert, special forces organization that harassed, seriously injured and eliminated anti-apartheid activists
• Federal Independent Democratic Alliance (FIDA)
• International Freedom Foundation - Washington-based mechanism to combat sanctions, and support Jonas Savimbi and UNITA
• Jeugkrag - or Youth for South Africa, led by Marthinus van Schalkwyk a short-lived Afrikaner youth group, surreptitiously funded by the Military Intelligence's Project Essay
• National Student Federation (NSF) - led by Russell Crystal, intended to challenge NUSAS
• Roodeplaat Research Laboratories
• Taussig Familienstiftung - or Taussig Family Trust, a Liechtenstein conduit for secret government transactions
• Veterans for Victory - consisting of national servicemen, a countermeasure against the End Conscription Campaign which was allied to the United Democratic Front (UDF)

Communist fronts

Further information: Communist front

Communist and other Marxist-Leninist parties have sometimes used front organizations to attract support from those (sometimes called fellow travellers) who may not necessarily agree with Leninist ideology. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Extrajudicial punishment is Punishment by the state or some other official authority without the permission of a Court or legal authority The Citizen is a Tabloid style Newspaper that is distributed nationally in South Africa. The Rand Daily Mail was a Johannesburg daily newspaper with an anti-apartheid bias that broke the news about the apartheid state's disinformation funding scandal in Balthazar Johannes Vorster (13 December 1915 - 10 September 1983 better known as John Vorster ("FOUR-stir" served as the Prime Minister of South Africa Connie Mulder, born Cornelius Petrus Mulder ( 5 June 1925 &ndash12 January 1988 Johannesburg) was a South African politician and minister The South African Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB was a Covert, Special forces organisation during the apartheid era that operated under the authority The International Freedom Foundation (IFF was a self-described Anti-communist group established in Washington D Jonas Malheiro Savimbi ( August 3, 1934 &ndash February 22, 2002) led UNITA, an anti-Communist rebel group that fought against The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola) is the second-largest Political party in Angola. Jeugkrag (or Youth for South Africa) was a short-lived South African youth group surreptitiously funded by the Apartheid government's department of Military Marthinus Christoffel Johannes van Schalkwyk (born 10 November 1959) is a South African politician A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization such as intelligence agencies, Organized crime groups banned organizations religious The National Union of South African Students (NUSAS was an important force for Liberalism in South Africa in the latter part of the last century Roodeplaat Research Laboratories (RRL (Afrikaans Roodeplaat Navorsings Laboratoriums was a front company established in 1983 by the South African Defence Force A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization such as intelligence agencies, Organized crime groups banned organizations religious The Principality of Liechtenstein (Fürstentum Liechtenstein) is a tiny doubly landlocked Alpine country in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization such as intelligence agencies, Organized crime groups banned organizations religious National service is a common name for mandatory or voluntary government service programs (most often focusing on military service The End Conscription Campaign was an anti- Apartheid organisation allied to the United Democratic Front (UDF and composed of Conscientious objectors and their supporters The United Democratic Front ( UDF) was one of the most important anti- Apartheid organisations of the 1980s Communist Front was originally the term used by the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA and then later by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Marxism-Leninism is a Communist ideological stream that emerged as the mainstream tendency amongst the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted In some political contexts the term fellow traveler refers to a person who sympathizes with the beliefs of a particular organization but does not belong to that organization The front organization often obscures its provenance and may often be a tool for recruitment. Other Marxists often describe front organizations as opportunist. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Opportunism is a term used in Politics and Political science.

According to a list prepared in 1955 by the United States Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, the Comintern set up no less than 82 front organizations in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. The Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951-77 more commonly known as the Senate Internal Security The Comintern ( Com munist Intern ational also known as the Third International) was an international Communist organisation founded in Moscow This tactic was often used during the Red Scare of the 1950s, when a number of organizations in the labor and peace movements were accused of being "Communist fronts". McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better A peace movement is a Social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or all wars minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or Sometimes, Communist fronts worked at an international level, as has been alleged with the World Peace Council. The World Peace Council (or World Council of Peace) was formed in 1949 in order to promote Peaceful coexistence and Nuclear disarmament.

More recently, the Workers' World Party (WWP)^[22] set up an anti-war front group, International ANSWER. Workers World Party ( WWP) is a communist party in the United States founded in 1959 by a group led by Sam Marcy. The term anti-war usually refers to the opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. Act Now to Stop War and End Racism — also known as International A (ANSWER is no longer closely associated with WWP; it is closely associated with a WWP splinter, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, but PSL plays a more open role in the organization. The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL is a Marxist party in the United States founded to promote revolutionary change ) Similarly, Unite Against Fascism, the Anti-Nazi League, the Stop the War Coalition and Respect – The Unity Coalition are all criticised as being fronts for the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party (UK). Unite Against Fascism is an anti-fascist organisation in the United Kingdom that campaigns against far Right-wing and Fascist parties and groups in Britain The Anti-Nazi League (ANL was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party with some sponsorship (and a few small financial donations from The Stop the War Coalition (StWC (informally just Stop the War) is a United Kingdom Anti-war group set up on 21 September 2001 Respect – The Unity Coalition is a Left wing political party in England and Wales founded on 25 January, 2004 in London. Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. The Socialist Workers Party ( SWP) is the largest political party of the Far left in Britain that stands in the revolutionary socialist tradition

Some anti-Islamist feminist groups in the Muslim world have also been accused of being front organizations. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate The term Muslim world (or Islamic world) has several meanings The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan has been accused of being a Maoist front, while the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq has been accused of being a front for the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq ^[23][24]. The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA ( Persian: جمعیت انقلابی زنان افغانستان Jamiyat-e Enqelābi-ye Zanān-e Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader The Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq ( OWFI) is an organization which campaigns in favour of women's rights in Iraq and against Political Islam. The Worker-Communist Party of Iraq ( Arabic: Hizb al-Shuyu'i al-'Ummali al-'Iraqi) is a Marxist Political party in Iraq and amongst

The concept of a front organization should be distinguished from the united front - a coalition of working class or socialist parties - and the popular front - a coalition of a Communist party with bourgeois groups. A coalition is an alliance among individuals during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own Self-interest. Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution A popular front is a broad Coalition of different political groupings often made up of leftists and centrists who are united by opposition to another group A Political party described as a communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of Communism through a communist form of Both the united front and popular front usually disclose the groups that make up their coalitions.

Animal rights groups

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an organization which advocates vegetarianism for health reasons, has criticized high-protein diets such as the Atkins Diet, and seeks to eliminate the use of animals in scientific research, has been accused of being a front group for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights organization. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM is a Non-profit organization based in Washington D Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes Meat (including game and slaughter by-products Fish (including Shellfish and other sea Atkins Nutritional Approach, popularly known as the Atkins Diet or just 'Atkins' is a well-known Low-carbohydrate diet created by Dr "Animal liberation" redirects here for other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. ^{(Citation needed)}

Banned paramilitary organizations

Banned paramilitary organizations sometimes use front groups to achieve a public face with which to raise funds, negotiate with opposition parties, recruit, and spread propaganda. For example, banned paramilitary organizations often have an affiliated political party that operates more openly (though often these parties, themselves, end up banned). A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force but which are not regarded as having the same status A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral These parties may or may not be front organizations in the narrow sense — they have varying degrees of autonomy and the relationships are usually something of an open secret — but are widely considered to be so, especially by their political opponents.

Examples are the relationship between the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Féin in 1980s Ireland or between the Basque groups ETA (paramilitary) and Batasuna (party) in Spain. The Irish Republican Army ( IRA) (Óglaigh na hÉireann was a military organisation descended from the Irish Volunteers, established 25 November 1913 and who Sinn Féin () is a political party in Ireland. The current party led by Gerry Adams was formed following a split in January 1970 Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The Basques (Euskaldunak are a people who inhabit a region spanning over parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France. eu '''Euskadi Ta Askatasuna''' or ETA ( Basque for "Basque Homeland and Freedom" ˈɛːta is an illegal armed Basque nationalist Separatist Batasuna ("Unity" in Basque language) is a Basque nationalist political organization based mainly in Spain, declared illegal but with Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Similarly, in the United States in periods where the Communist Party was highly stigmatized, it often operated largely through front groups. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Communist Party of the United States of America ( CPUSA) is a Marxist-Leninist Political party in the United States. In addition, the Provisional IRA also operated a vigilante front group, called Direct Action Against Drugs. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann ( IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the A vigilante is a person who ignores Due process of law and enacts their own form of Justice in response to a perception of insufficient response by the Direct Action Against Drugs was a Vigilante group in Ireland that claimed responsibility for the killing of a number of alleged drug dealers The organisation

Corporate front organizations

See also: Shell corporation

Corporations from a wide variety of different industries set up front groups. A shell Corporation is defined in Barron's Finance & Investment Handbook as "a company that is incorporated but has no significant assets or operations Some pharmaceutical companies set up "patients' groups" as front organizations that pressure healthcare providers and legislators to adopt their products. For example, Schering Healthcare and Biogen Ltd. tried to pressure the UK National Health Service (NHS) to adopt its drug Beta Interferon to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS) sufferers. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the four Publicly-funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom collectively or individually (although Interferons ( IFN s are natural Proteins produced by the cells of the Immune system of most Vertebrates in response to challenges by foreign agents Multiple sclerosis (abbreviated MS also known as disseminated sclerosis or encephalomyelitis disseminata) is an autoimmune condition in which the Schering set up and funded a group called MS Voice, with its own website, which claimed to represent MS sufferers.

Another pharmaceutical company, Biogen, set up a campaign called Action for Access, which also claimed it was an independent organization and the voice of MS sufferers. Biogen Idec Inc ( is a Biotechnology company specializing in drugs for neurological disorders, Autoimmune disorders and Cancer. People who visited the website and signed up for the campaign did not realise that these were not genuinely independent patient groups. It has been alleged that computer software giant Microsoft created and funded the Association for Competitive Technology to defend its interests against charges of antitrust violations. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer Association for Competitive Technology (ACT is an international technology lobby group whose members are mostly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs in the United States and the Tobacco companies frequently use front organizations and doctors to advocate their arguments about tobacco use, although less openly and obviously than in the 1980s.

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is one of the more active corporate front groups and one of several front groups created by Berman & Co. The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF formerly the Guest Choice Network) is a U , a public affairs firm owned by lobbyist Rick Berman. They claim to be supported by restaurants, food companies and more than 1,000 concerned individuals. Based in Washington, DC, Berman & Co. represents the tobacco industry as well as hotels, beer distributors, taverns, and restaurant chains. The group actively opposes smoking bans and lowering the legal blood-alcohol level, while targeting studies on the dangers of red meat consumption, overfishing and pesticides. Each year they give out the "nanny awards" to groups who, according to them, try to tell consumers how to live their lives. ^[25] They also run affiliated websites such as ActivistCash.com.

A list of some alleged corporate front groups active in the US is maintained by the Multinational Monitor. The Multinational Monitor is a bimonthly magazine founded by Ralph Nader in 1980 ^[26] Some think tanks are corporate front groups. A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization institute corporation or group that conducts Research and engages in advocacy in areas such These organizations present themselves as research organizations, using phrases such as ". . . Institute for Research" in their names. Because their names suggest neutrality, they can present the commercial strategies of the corporations which sponsor them in a way which appears to be objective sociological or economical research rather than political lobbying. Sociology (from Latin: socius "companion" and the suffix -ology "the study of" from Greek λόγος lógos "knowledge" Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Similarly the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness has been criticised as a front organization for various industry bodies which seek to undermine regulation of their environmentally damaging activities under the guise of 'regulatory effectiveness'. The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE is a lobby group in the United States which focuses on federal agency compliance with "good government" laws which regulate ^[27]

Astroturfing

Main article: Astroturfing

Astroturfing, a wordplay based on "grassroots" efforts, is an American term used pejoratively to describe formal public relations projects which try to create the impression of a groundswell of spontaneous popular response to a politician, product, service, or event. Astroturfing in American English is a Neologism for formal Public relations campaigns in Politics and Advertising which seek to create the impression Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Public relations (PR is the practice of managing the flow of Information between an Organization and its Publics Public relations - often referred Corporations have been known to "astroturf", but are not the only entities alleged to have done so. In recent years, organizations of plaintiffs' attorneys have established front groups such as Victims and Families United and the Center for Justice and Democracy to oppose tort reform. Tort reform in the United States refers to a topic of debate over the changes to the Tort law system of liability and damages ^[28]

References

Further reading

• CIA "Fronts" - an unattributed list of alleged front organizations for the Central Intelligence Agency
• information about corporate front organisations in Europe
• Chris Mooney on 'The Centre for Regulatory Effectiveness' - Washington Monthly
• "Thank you for Smoking"
• Front groups at SourceWatch

See also

• Shell company
• Mafia
• Organized crime
• Straw man (law)
• GONGO
• Media transparency
• Astroturfing
• Transparency (humanities)
• Revolutionary Communist Party
• Category:Advocacy groups

The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative market-oriented Think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI is a conservative Think tank, founded in 1943 near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all A shell Corporation is defined in Barron's Finance & Investment Handbook as "a company that is incorporated but has no significant assets or operations The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian Criminal Secret society which is believed to have first developed in the mid-19th century "Crime syndicate" redirects here For the DC Comics group of villains see Crime Syndicate. In law the term straw man can refer to a third party that acts as a "front" in a transaction (i GONGO stands for Government -operated Non-governmental organization, which may have been set up by governments to look like NGOs in order to qualify for outside aid Media Transparency is the concept of determining how and why Information is conveyed through various means Astroturfing in American English is a Neologism for formal Public relations campaigns in Politics and Advertising which seek to create the impression The Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP started as a Trotskyist political organisation in 1978, creating what its founding members saw as a revolutionary Bolshevik

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