Koch Network Infiltration of Public Schools 'Harms Students, Teachers, and Our Democracy': Report

Aug 11, 2021 View Original Article
  • Bias Rating

    -26% Medium Liberal

  • Reliability

    N/AN/A

  • Policy Leaning

    -24% Somewhat Liberal

  • Politician Portrayal

    30% Negative

Bias Score Analysis

The A.I. bias rating includes policy and politician portrayal leanings based on the author’s tone found in the article using machine learning. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral.

Sentiments

Overall Sentiment

N/A

  •   Liberal
  •   Conservative
SentenceSentimentBias
"The Koch network has made no secret about the critical role that public education plays as an ideal arena for influencing U.S. policy and culture, the group says in an introduction to the report."
Positive
16% Conservative
"Lack of public accountability and transparency surrounding private and charter schools, as well as privately created curriculum and textbooks, leaves little room for parents and educators to take action against undesired and harmful agendas."
Positive
16% Conservative
"In their assault on public education, the network has taken actions to increasingly privatize and corporatize K-12 institutions."
Positive
6% Conservative
"In their assault on public education, the network has taken actions to increasingly privatize and corporatize K-12 institutions."
Positive
6% Conservative
"At the moment, there is a coordinated effort in states across the country to pass bills attempting to ban the teaching of CRT in public schools, the report notes."
Positive
4% Conservative
"The report states that while she was education secretary, DeVos allocated $399 million in federal grant money toward the expansion of charter schools nationwide, adding that most of her efforts, such as her attempt to allocate $400 million of the national budget toward charter schools in 2018 or her proposed $5 billion voucher program, were unsuccessful."
Positive
4% Conservative
"The report (pdf), entitled The Koch Network and the Capture of K-12 Education, was compiled by the advocacy groups UnKoch My Campus and Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ) and examines tactics employed by the plutocrats' cabal -- which is led by billionaire Charles Koch, and whose members pay at least $100,000 per year -- to destabilize and abolish public education."
Positive
0% Conservative
"The report examines Arizona as a case study that shows exactly what happens when all of these factors fall into place in a state where the Koch network's efforts to dismantle public schools have made a significant impact."
Positive
0% Conservative
"Through a variety of tactics -- charter schools, vouchers, curriculum, textbooks, trainings, using state politicians to engage in culture war against progressive ideas, and more -- the Koch network is able to ensure the spread of their ideas, including climate disinformation and free market-favoring economics philosophy."
Negative
-2% Liberal
"More than one in six Arizona students are enrolled in charter schools, the Koch-funded Freedom Center has played a large role in influencing public education in the state, and under a budget signed into law last month by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, schools face fines up to $5,000 and teachers can lose their licenses for teaching that students' race, ethnicity, or sex determines their character."
Negative
-2% Liberal
"Public education must be destroyed for the good of all American citizens, in this view."
Negative
-4% Liberal
"A new report published Wednesday reveals how the Koch network -- a shadowy group of wealthy capitalists acting to push the U.S. in a more conservative direction -- is methodically working to undermine and privatize public education for financial gain."
Negative
-14% Liberal
"More than one in six Arizona students are enrolled in charter schools, the Koch-funded Freedom Center has played a large role in influencing public education in the state, and under a budget signed into law last month by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, schools face fines up to $5,000 and teachers can lose their licenses for teaching that students' race, ethnicity, or sex determines their character."
Positive
0% Conservative
"The report notes that one Koch network affiliate, former Trump-era Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, has contributed at least $200 million to conservative organizations, including many within the Koch network, since the 1970s."
Negative
-30% Liberal

Bias Meter

Extremely
Liberal

Very
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Moderately
Liberal

Somewhat Liberal

Center

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Moderately
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Very
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-100%
Liberal

100%
Conservative

Bias Meter

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

58% : "The Koch network has made no secret about the critical role that public education plays as an ideal arena for influencing U.S. policy and culture," the group says in an introduction to the report.
58% : "Lack of public accountability and transparency surrounding private and charter schools, as well as privately created curriculum and textbooks, leaves little room for parents and educators to take action against undesired and harmful agendas."
53% : "In their assault on public education, the network has taken actions to increasingly privatize and corporatize K-12 institutions."
53% : "In their assault on public education, the network has taken actions to increasingly privatize and corporatize K-12 institutions."
52% : "At the moment, there is a coordinated effort in states across the country to pass bills attempting to ban the teaching of CRT in public schools," the report notes.
52% : The report states that while she was education secretary, DeVos "allocated $399 million in federal grant money toward the expansion of charter schools nationwide," adding that most of her efforts, "such as her attempt to allocate $400 million of the national budget toward charter schools in 2018 or her proposed $5 billion voucher program, were unsuccessful."
50% : The report (pdf), entitled The Koch Network and the Capture of K-12 Education, was compiled by the advocacy groups UnKoch My Campus and Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ) and examines tactics employed by the plutocrats' cabal -- which is led by billionaire Charles Koch, and whose members pay at least $100,000 per year -- "to destabilize and abolish public education."
50% : The report examines Arizona as a case study that "shows exactly what happens when all of these factors fall into place" in a state where "the Koch network's efforts to dismantle public schools have made a significant impact."
49% : "Through a variety of tactics -- charter schools, vouchers, curriculum, textbooks, trainings, using state politicians to engage in culture war against progressive ideas, and more -- the Koch network is able to ensure the spread of their ideas, including climate disinformation and free market-favoring economics philosophy."
49% : More than one in six Arizona students are enrolled in charter schools, the Koch-funded Freedom Center "has played a large role in influencing public education in the state," and under a budget signed into law last month by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, schools face fines up to $5,000 and teachers can lose their licenses for "teaching that students' race, ethnicity, or sex determines their character.
48% : Public education must be destroyed for the good of all American citizens, in this view.
43% : A new report published Wednesday reveals how the Koch network -- a shadowy group of wealthy capitalists acting to push the U.S. in a more conservative direction -- is methodically working to undermine and privatize public education for financial gain.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.

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