

Moulitsas said that he hoped to “foment a universe of liberal think tanks, media outlets, leadership courses and a coalition of interest groups marching in lockstep for the progressive cause.” 14 Moulitsas expressed hope that the Daily Kos would turn its readers into liberal activists and influence elections in favor of liberal political candidates. 12 Daily Kos is operated by Kos Media, LLC, headquartered in left-wing Berkeley, California. Markos Moulitsas “started Daily Kos -a weblog focusing on progressive, liberal, and Democratic Party politics-on May 26, 2002.” 11 Moulitsas has said that he created Daily Kos to oppose the Bush administration’s aggressive foreign policies, especially the Iraq invasion of 2003. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts). Senator Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and U.S. 8 The event, now renamed Netroots Nation, is described as a staple of the Democratic political circuit 9 and has been attended by such noteworthy Democrats as then-U.S. In 2006, Daily Kos organized and funded the first annual conference of “netroots” internet activists then known as the Yearly Kos, 7 named after Moulitsas.

5 This trend has become so clear that the Howard Dean Presidential campaign (through staffer and future left-wing politician Zephyr Teachout) admitted that the campaign sought to secure favorable coverage for Dean’s campaign by employing Moulitsas and a colleague. Moulitsas has often faced criticisms of pay-to-play blogging, in which he allegedly writes blog posts in support of candidates for office after they have paid him or his business partners substantial sums of money. 3 In the first 10 months of 2017, Daily Kos raised a total of $4.2 million for its endorsed political candidates. 2 The Daily Kos has endorsed hundreds of Democrats for office and has raised millions of dollars for liberal campaigns. The Daily Kos influences elections by generating financial support for more liberal Democratic candidates. Moulitsas created Daily Kos hoping to turn its readers into left-wing activists, to influence elections in favor of liberal political candidates, and to support liberal think tanks and interest groups. The Daily Kos is a news website and blog focusing on progressive, liberal, and Democratic Party politics created by Markos Moulitsas.
