Talk:MapLight

External links modified

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Some proposed changes

Suggest adding a sentence to reflect MapLight's news reporting on money in politics. I would suggest something like "MapLight produces original reporting on campaign contributions, lobbying, and influence in government." This is clear from MapLight's news page (https://maplight.org/news/). Another external location validating this is here:

I also suggest adding a sentence to reflect MapLight's voter guide, in partnership with the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund, called Voter's Edge. Suggested sentence: "MapLight also produces a nonpartisan voter guide, Voter’s Edge, launched in partnership in California with the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund." Citation:

Absaslow (talk) 16:17, 24 August 2018 (UTC)Absaslow NOTE: I am employed by MapLight, and am suggesting changes to accurately reflect the organization's current work.

References

Reply 24-AUG-2018

The issues that MapLight reports on are important and valuable, as the helping and cultivation of the citizenry's political education into something which becomes better informed, is a worthwhile and noble cause. Needless to say, MapLight has its own established web properties which are well suited to carrying out this task. Wikipedia, which is staffed by volunteers, is better off avoiding a replication of these efforts via the MapLink Wikipedia page, which was designed more to offer broad generalities of MapLight's activities, where its lead section accomplishes this very well. Edit requests which seek to add more specific listings or information such as partnerships or voter guides run counter to this design. Additionally, the identical claims mentioned here would need to have been reported on by several independent, notable publications before being added here. (See also WP:NOBLECAUSE.)
Regards,  spintendo  18:36, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

Reply 5-SEPT-2018

Got it. That makes sense on specificity. In order to provide readers a more updated list of MapLight's funders, I would like to suggest the "Funding" section be modified to read as follows: MapLight is funded primarily by contributions from individuals and philanthropic foundations, including the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Sunlight Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, and the Tides Foundation MapLight’s audited financial statements and federal tax returns are publicly available online.

Link to substantiation about MapLight’s financial statements online: https://maplight.org/how-were-funded/).

Link to substantiation of recent funding from Laura and John Arnold Foundation: https://www.arnoldfoundation.org/grants/#grant-19545

Link to substantiation of recent funding from MacArthur Foundation: https://www.macfound.org/press/press-releases/macarthur-grants-help-strengthen-american-democracy-establish-voting-rights-institute/

Absaslow (talk) 20:38, 5 September 2018 (UTC) absaslow

Changes requested for accuracy

Hi - I would like to request the following edits as some information is no longer correct. Thank you for your time!

1. Logo The logo currently shown on the Wikipedia article is no longer in use. MapLight’s current logo is visible at maplight.org and on the following disclosure system sites (MapLight is credited at the bottom of the pages). Propose replacing the old logo with the correct current one.
   • Denver https://denver.maplight.com/public
   • Lakewood, Colorado https://lakewoodco.maplight.com/public
   • Maine (lobbying site) https://mainelobbying.com/public/dashboard
   • Minneapolis https://minneapolis.maplight.com/public
2. Introduction & Policy Positions section: The following statements that appear on the Wikipedia article are no longer correct: “MapLight provides data on both campaign finance and voting behavior in one database. MapLight uses an in-house research team in addition to data sources that include OpenSecrets and GovTrack. MapLight advocates for public funding of elections and increased campaign finance regulations.” MapLight no longer engages in policy advocacy work. Propose removing the previous sentences or indicate that those covered MapLight's previous work. Suggest adding MapLight's current work, which is "MapLight creates campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics disclosure systems for state and local governments." Following links are the public sites with MapLight credited at the bottom of each site: https://mainelobbying.com/public/dashboard https://www.mainecampaignfinancedisclosure.com/public https://minneapolis.maplight.com/public https://lakewoodco.maplight.com/public https://denver.maplight.com/public Examples of news sources that mention MapLight’s disclosure system work: One way to cut through the noise of elections: find out who’s bankrolling them. Denver just made that easier. (Denverite) https://denverite.com/2022/02/28/one-way-to-cut-through-the-noise-of-elections-find-out-whos-bankrolling-them-denver-just-made-that-easier/ SearchLight Denver Creates Easy Access to Campaign Finance Records (303 Magazine) https://303magazine.com/2022/04/searchlight-denver/
3. Funding section Suggest adding current status, which is that "MapLight is primarily funded by contracts with state and local governments who purchase disclosure systems." (see above citations for examples of governments who have purchased MapLight disclosure system, and MapLight's 990s are available at https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/331094233) Request removal of the following statement that is not accurate: “In June 2014, Politico reported that MapLight was a recipient of funding through the Democracy Alliance, a network of liberal donors who coordinate their anonymous political giving.”
   • Politico article referenced does not mention MapLight and does not support the assertion that MapLight received funds from the Democracy Alliance.

Maplightinfo (talk) 19:07, 25 September 2026 (UTC)