FOREIGN INFLUENCE TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE
While investigations into Russian influence in the 2016 election regularly garner front-page headlines, there is a half-billion-dollar foreign influence industry working to shape U.S. foreign policy every single day that remains largely unknown to the public. The Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative is working to change that anonymity through transparency promotion, investigative research, and public education.
Recent Publications
Lobbying in the U.S. by Countries in Africa: An Overview
By Ben Freeman
This report analyzes foreign lobbying filings from countries in Africa between 2016 and 2020, spotlights the top spenders from these countries on foreign lobbying during this time period, and discusses the implications for U.S. foreign policy.
Turkey's Lobby in the United States
by Ben Freeman
A detailed look in the relationship between Ankara and Washington, and what has made made U.S.-Turkey relations more strained than ever before.
Latest News
US: New legislation seeks to target foreign funding behind congressional testimony
Ben Freeman quoted
Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative
The CIP report [] found that several Middle Eastern countries were among the top foreign donors to Washington-based think tanks. The UAE and Qatar were among the top ten countries donating to these institutions, donating $15.4m and $8.5m respectively, according to the report. Morocco, meanwhile, was included in the top 20 countries with donations totaling $2.8m.
Erdogan Is Focused on His Image. Don't Disturb Him With Femicide
Ben Freeman cited
Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative
In October, the Washington-based Center for International Policy published a report detailing Turkey’s lobbying activities, including the companies it hired to promote Turkish policy and the amount of money it paid.
The mapping of the Turkish lobby in the USA - The deep mechanism, the backstage action, the pressure groups
CIP's "Turkey's Lobby in the United States" report cited
Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative
In the spring of 2019, the US House Armed Services Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee were inundated with letters of similar content. " The purchase of the S-400s was not a matter of preference, but of necessity, " he said, adding that Turkey's possible withdrawal from the F-35 5th generation aircraft program "makes no sense " and " undermines NATO's overall deterrent capability."
Meet The Experts
Ben Freeman
Director
ABOUT THE FOREIGN INFLUENCE TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE
While investigations into Russian influence in the 2016 election regularly garner front-page headlines, there is a half-billion-dollar foreign influence industry working to shape U.S. foreign policy every single day that remains largely unknown to the public. The Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative is working to change that anonymity through transparency promotion, investigative research, and public education.
The Initiative believes that promoting transparency is the best tool for highlighting the impact – potentially for both good and ill – of foreign influence on American democracy. To this end, it works to devise policy solutions to increase the incentives for agents to properly register and report the work they are doing on behalf of foreign powers and to make the details of such contracts and work publicly available.
FITI also seeks to highlight how advocacy campaigns implemented on behalf of foreign powers have successfully influenced U.S. foreign policy, particularly lobbying that promotes a more militarized U.S. foreign policy. Finally, the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative is dedicated to increasing public education about the role foreign powers play within American democracy. Efforts to accomplish this goal include collaborating with journalists to highlight corruption in the foreign influence industry and working with policymakers to devise solutions that minimize the ill effects of undue foreign influence.