Koch Network Database

Overview

The Koch Network Database is a research resource maintained by DeSmog, an investigative journalism outlet focused on climate change, profiling individuals and organizations linked to Charles Koch, the late David Koch, other Koch family members, Koch Industries and related entities. Launched in August 2019, it is one of several databases DeSmog maintains alongside its Climate Disinformation Database, Agribusiness Database and Air Pollution Lobbying Database.

Key functions and role

The database chronicles the historical and current activities, quotes and affiliations of people and organizations that DeSmog identifies as advancing the Koch network's free-market approach to environmental regulation and related civic issues, intended as a research aid for journalists, academics and the public. It launched alongside KochDocs.org, a companion document archive built by researcher Lisa Graves and her organization True North Research, with which DeSmog collaborates on the Koch Network Database, along with the Climate Investigations Center, which contributed archival research.

History

DeSmog first reported on Koch Industries' climate-related public relations activities in 2007, and the Koch Network Database formalized more than a decade of subsequent research into a searchable resource when it launched in August 2019. The database draws in part on research originally developed for SourceWatch, a wiki-based watchdog project of the Center for Media and Democracy.

Political positions

DeSmog describes its work as nonpartisan investigative journalism aimed at documenting corporate and political influence on climate and environmental policy. The Koch network and its affiliated organizations have generally been characterized in mainstream and left-leaning reporting, including Jane Mayer's book "Dark Money," as a libertarian and conservative political and philanthropic network; Koch-affiliated organizations have disputed characterizations of their funding and activities as secretive or improperly coordinated.

Leadership

Brendan DeMelle serves as Executive Director of DeSmog globally. Lisa Graves, executive director of the allied organization True North Research, has led the KochDocs.org archive that the database draws upon and collaborates with.

Location and contact info

Address
DeSmog
1455 NW Leary Way, Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98107, USA
Phone
202-505-1092
Website
https://www.desmog.com/koch-network-database/