Taxpayers bankroll Trump TV spots

Reposted by Michael D. McDonald, Lesley Bartlett

Scholar power: 21.3%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Michael D. McDonald	29%	22	13.6%
🎓 Lesley Bartlett	13%	35	7.7%
Total			21.3%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

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Reposts

Scholar power

60.0%

22.8 h

581

21.3%

Ranking score

0.168

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Kyle Griffin

@kylegriffin1.bsky.social

WSJ Exclusive:

The Trump admin used federal funds from the Department of Homeland Security to finance those controversial pro-Trump ads that started airing on TV.

The taxpayer money used to fund the ads came from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Exclusive | Homeland Security Money Financed Pro-Trump Television Ads

White House calls the spots public-service ads, but critics argue using taxpayer money for campaign-like messaging may violate federal law.

www.wsj.com

September 29, 2026 at 10:20 PM

Reposted by Élisabeth Vallet, Ann Bartow

14%

Scholar power: 14.3%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Élisabeth Vallet	30%	7	7.9%
🎓 Ann Bartow	20%	10	6.3%
Total			14.3%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

47.0%

6.2 h

260

14.3%

Ranking score

0.134

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

404 Media

@404media.co

BREAKING: The Trump administration is using a grant program from the 1980s to force cities around the US to funnel their ongoing collection of Flock, Axon, and other ALPR data into large federal surveillance centers that fall under the White House’s jurisdiction, 404 Media has learned

How Cities Are Forced to Funnel License Plate Data to a Massive Federal Surveillance Program

How the federal government built a massive database of license plate reader data through an anti-drug trafficking program.

www.404media.co

September 30, 2026 at 2:58 PM

Reposted by Anne Applebaum

6%

Scholar power: 6.9%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Anne Applebaum	23%	9	6.9%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

66.0%

22.8 h

1047

6.9%

Ranking score

0.088

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Reposted by Anne Applebaum

6%

Scholar power: 6.9%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Anne Applebaum	23%	9	6.9%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

58.0%

23.8 h

1825

6.9%

Ranking score

0.068

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by Guy Grossman

33%

Scholar power: 33.4%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Guy Grossman	20%	31	33.4%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

66.0%

18.6 h

1

33.4%

Ranking score

0.051

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Guy Grossman

@guygrossman.bsky.social

How is this even legal?

Brian Stelter @brianstelter.bsky.social · 18h

Millions of taxpayer dollars have already been spent on Trump's new TV ads, and millions more have been allocated... www.cnn.com/2026/09/29/m...

Trump’s ads have cost taxpayers at least $2.5 million, with funding from Customs and Border Protection | CNN Business

Millions of taxpayer dollars have already been spent on President Donald Trump’s hagiographic ads, according to estimates by a leading political ad-tracking firm. And a total of $20 million has been a...

www.cnn.com

September 30, 2026 at 2:33 AM

by Glenn Greenwald

17%

Scholar power: 17.4%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Glenn Greenwald	26%	5	17.4%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

47.0%

23.6 h

10

17.4%

Ranking score

0.047

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by Timothy D. McBride

0%

Scholar power: 0.0%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Timothy D. McBride	0%	23	0.0%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

60.0%

5.7 h

3

0.0%

Ranking score

0.037

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Timothy McBride

@mcbridetd.bsky.social

Trump TV ads paid for with $20M in Homeland Security funds, Dems find missouriindependent.com/2026/09/30/r...

Trump TV ads paid for with $20M in Homeland Security funds, Dems find • Missouri Independent

President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call ...

missouriindependent.com

September 30, 2026 at 3:23 PM

by Élisabeth Vallet

23%

Scholar power: 23.8%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Élisabeth Vallet	30%	7	23.8%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

46.0%

6.1 h

2

23.8%

Ranking score

0.033

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Elisabeth Vallet

@elisabethvallet.bsky.social

#surveillancestate

404 Media @404media.co · 6h

BREAKING: The Trump administration is using a grant program from the 1980s to force cities around the US to funnel their ongoing collection of Flock, Axon, and other ALPR data into large federal surveillance centers that fall under the White House’s jurisdiction, 404 Media has learned

How Cities Are Forced to Funnel License Plate Data to a Massive Federal Surveillance Program

How the federal government built a massive database of license plate reader data through an anti-drug trafficking program.

www.404media.co

September 30, 2026 at 3:01 PM

by Scott Lucas

25%

Scholar power: 25.6%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Scott Lucas	22%	15	25.6%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

48.0%

10.4 h

1

25.6%

Ranking score

0.026

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Scott Lucas

@scottlucas.bsky.social

EA on Dublin NewsTalk: How Bad Is #TrumpTV? (Scott Lucas with Sean Moncrieff)

#Trump #Disinformation #Propaganda #Authoritarianism

eaworldview.com/2026/09/how-...

EA on Dublin NewsTalk: How Bad Is Trump TV? - EA WorldView

Analyzing the dark comedy that is Trump TV, launched last week on the YouTube channel of the White House, as Trumpists try to break US media

eaworldview.com

September 30, 2026 at 10:44 AM

Reposted by Guy Grossman

11%

Scholar power: 11.1%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Guy Grossman	20%	31	11.1%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

70.0%

19.0 h

0

11.1%

Ranking score

0.02

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Brian Stelter

@brianstelter.bsky.social

Millions of taxpayer dollars have already been spent on Trump's new TV ads, and millions more have been allocated... www.cnn.com/2026/09/29/m...

Trump’s ads have cost taxpayers at least $2.5 million, with funding from Customs and Border Protection | CNN Business

Millions of taxpayer dollars have already been spent on President Donald Trump’s hagiographic ads, according to estimates by a leading political ad-tracking firm. And a total of $20 million has been a...

www.cnn.com

September 30, 2026 at 2:10 AM

Reposted by Dean Baker

1%

Scholar power: 1.4%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Dean Baker	3%	21	1.4%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

69.0%

21.2 h

151

1.4%

Ranking score

0.018

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Reposted by Dean Baker

1%

Scholar power: 1.4%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Dean Baker	3%	21	1.4%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

63.0%

23.1 h

388

1.4%

Ranking score

0.017

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by Dean Baker

4%

Scholar power: 4.1%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Dean Baker	3%	21	4.1%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

57.0%

16.1 h

0

4.1%

Ranking score

0.015

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by David Darmofal

12%

Scholar power: 12.9%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 David Darmofal	13%	11	12.9%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

59.0%

18.5 h

7

12.9%

Ranking score

0.014

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

David Darmofal

@daviddarmofal.bsky.social

Darline Graham says she supports Trump 100%. That means she supports this authoritarian use of the taxpayer dollars of struggling South Carolinians.

Ohio Capital Journal @ohiocapitaljournal.com · 18h

President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call propaganda come under bipartisan attack. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/09/29/r...

Trump TV ads paid for with $20M in Homeland Security funds, Dems find • Ohio Capital Journal

President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call…

ohiocapitaljournal.com

September 30, 2026 at 2:37 AM

by Timothy D. McBride

0%

Scholar power: 0.0%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Timothy D. McBride	0%	23	0.0%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

73.0%

21.6 h

1

0.0%

Ranking score

0.013

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Timothy McBride

@mcbridetd.bsky.social

Experts Question the White House’s Defense of Taxpayer-Funded Ads www.factcheck.org/2026/09/expe...

Experts Question the White House's Defense of Taxpayer-Funded Ads - FactCheck.org

The White House has defended three taxpayer-funded advertisements featuring President Donald Trump by comparing them to ads that were paid for by past presidential administrations. But some legal expe...

www.factcheck.org

September 29, 2026 at 11:32 PM

Reposted by Dean Baker

1%

Scholar power: 1.4%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Dean Baker	3%	21	1.4%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

56.0%

20.2 h

86

1.4%

Ranking score

0.008

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Reposted by David Darmofal

4%

Scholar power: 4.3%

Story's scientific field profile

Political science 40%, Law 35%, Communication & Media Studies 25%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 David Darmofal	13%	11	4.3%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

62.0%

18.6 h

0

4.3%

Ranking score

0.006

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Ohio Capital Journal

@ohiocapitaljournal.com

President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call propaganda come under bipartisan attack. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/09/29/r...

Trump TV ads paid for with $20M in Homeland Security funds, Dems find • Ohio Capital Journal

President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call…

ohiocapitaljournal.com

September 30, 2026 at 2:30 AM