Disclosure of financial ties important to readers

The Courant has published yet another opinion piece written by the Heritage Foundation, critical of electric vehicles and full of half-truths and misleading statements [Opinion, Page 5, Aug. 31, “California Dreamin’: A no-choice nightmare that benefits China”]. Given the frequency with which the Heritage Foundation targets this issue, one can’t help but wonder how much financial support the Heritage Foundation and their writers receive from fossil fuel companies.

However, readers shouldn’t have to wonder to what degree the writers of the op-eds published in The Courant are influenced by financial inducements. The Courant appropriately requires writers of Letters to the Editor to disclose any potential conflicts of interest; for example, membership in an organization or employment by a company mentioned in the letter. Disclosure of financial conflicts of interest by organizations that disseminate op-eds is even more important, given their much greater reach and impact than Letters to the Editor published in individual newspapers. For example, The Heritage Foundation trumpets in its 2021 annual report the “2,920 commentaries placed in major publications.”

“Think tanks” and similar organizations should be required by The Courant to disclose relevant financial ties as a condition of publishing their commentaries. These could be made available digitally to interested readers. The logic of requiring a modicum of transparency is hard to dispute. The Courant could lead an effort to make this a national standard among newspaper publishers.

Mark L. Metersky, Avon