The Tech Transparency Project released a new study revealing the National Rifle Association (NRA) dramatically increases its online advertising on Facebook and Google in the weeks following mass shootings. The report details how these ad buys profit the major tech companies, despite public comments from their executives calling for gun control measures the NRA has sought to block. The report comes at a time when the NRA has used the coronavirus pandemic to promote gun sales.

The investigation revealed that YouTube has been running ads on several videos that contain misleading information about COVID-19. TTP’s investigation uncovered monetized videos touting “cures” and “protections,” including fruit-based home remedies and meditative music, among others, despite the platform’s insistence that videos containing misleading information about the virus are ineligible for monetization. Notably, the ads found alongside these videos were sponsored by well-known entities including President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, Facebook, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and streaming startup Quibi.

The Tech Transparency Project released the results of an independent investigation, revealing a large number of Facebook, Google, and Instagram users continue to advertise the sale of medical face masks on these platforms amidst the COVID-19 crisis, despite the tech giants’ insistence that the promotion of such products is prohibited on their platforms. In conjunction with the report, CfA has sent a letter to the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice calling for an investigation into these sales.

Tech Transparency Project (TTP) released a report identifying eight videos of the gruesome Christchurch, New Zealand, massacre that are still on Facebook despite the company’s promises to remove them.

On March 4, TTP released a new report, Broken Promises: Sexual Exploitation of Children on Facebook, revealing that pedophiles are widely using Facebook to sexually exploit children, despite Facebook’s promises to address the problem. The report is based on an analysis of federal criminal cases announced by the U.S. Department of Justice from 2013 to 2019, including guilty pleas, sentencings, and convictions.

On January 15, 2020, CfA released a new report, "Fake Feminists for Hire," revealing how the anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ group Concerned Women for America (CWA) has been declining over the past decade, while simultaneously partnering with well-funded dark money groups to amplify conservative causes that appear to be unrelated to its mission.

On October 9, 2019, CfA released a new report, "Google’s Media Takeover," which documents how Google contributed more than half a billion dollars to news and media organizations around the world. In conjunction with the report, CfA also released a comprehensive database that contains information about each of the 1,327 grants Google gave to journalism initiatives. CfA’s report and database represent the most comprehensive effort to catalogue all of Google’s payments to media organizations.

On September 5, 2019, CfA released a new report, BlackRock’s Washington Playbook, which details how BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, implemented a strategy of lobbying, campaign contributions, and revolving door hires to fight off government regulation and establish itself as one of the most powerful financial companies in the world.

On May 13, 2019, CfA released a new report, Trolling for Title X Funds, which documents the growth and deception of Obria, a network of anti-abortion, anti-birth control clinics that received a $1.7 million grant from the Trump administration to provide family planning services, and is set to receive an additional $3.4 million over the next two years. CfA’s report provides a comprehensive history of Obria and reveals how the group has transformed from a single crisis pregnancy center in California to a national umbrella organization seeking to wrest Title X Funds away from legitimate healthcare providers.

On April 25, 2019, CfA released a new report, Jason Saine: Hired Gun, revealing that North Carolina State Representative Jason Saine – one of the top fundraisers in the North Carolina legislature – appears to have repeatedly introduced favorable legislation for the benefit of his campaign donors. CfA’s report details nine previously unreported examples of Rep. Saine’s apparent pay-to-play behavior, which in turn provided him with campaign cash he used to fund an extravagant, high-flying lifestyle.