When the light of day burns...

Spotlight on secret profiling of pesticide critics sparks backlash and partial shut-down

Most of the time, it’s hard to know if the work that we journalists do makes a difference. But sometimes - particularly when we are able to shine a light on those who prefer to work in the shadows - the impact is easy to see.

This week, The New Lede and The Guardian co-published an article reporting that a US “intelligence gathering” company called v-Fluence (run by a former Monsanto executive) has halted its secret profiling of hundreds of food and environmental health advocates in a private web portal used by pesticide companies, US government officials and chemical industry supporters.

The company has additionally made significant staff cuts due to financial woes in the face of widespread backlash after its actions were exposed in September through a media collaboration led by Lighthouse Reports.

For years, the St. Louis, Mo-based v-Fluence provided a “stakeholder wiki” that featured personal details about more than 500 environmental advocates, scientists, politicians and others seen as opponents of pesticides and genetically modified (GM) crops.

The profiles often provided false and derogatory information about the industry opponents and included home addresses and phone numbers and details about family members, including children. The profiling was part of an effort to provide ammunition for agrochemical industry companies and supporters to use to discredit opponents and undermine international policymaking, according to court records, emails and other documents.

And some of the money came from US taxpayers - funneled to v-Fluence as a sub-contractor to the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

London research professor Michael Antoniou was among those profiled on the portal with derogatory information about his personal life and family members.

“Those of us who were profiled still do not know who accessed the information and how it was used,” he said. “Did it hinder us in our careers or close doors that otherwise may have been open to us? The fact that V-Fluence and the industries it serves resorted to these underhand methods shows that they were unable to win on the level of the science.”

You can read TNL’s first story that exposed v-Fluence’s work, and read this week’s update here in The New Lede and here in the Guardian.

Donations to help fund our journalism are always welcomed! (*But not required.)