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< [[SourceWatch:About|About SourceWatch]]

<big>'''The [http://www.prwatch.org '''Center for Media and Democracy'''] (CMD) publishes [[SourceWatch:Purpose|'''SourceWatch''' is a free ]]</big>, this collaborative, specialized encyclopedia about of the people, issuesorganizations, and groups issues shaping the public agenda.''' SourceWatch profiles the activities of [[front groups]], including activist groups and government agencies but especially [[public relations firmsprofessionals|PR spinners]], [[front groupsindustry-friendly experts]], [[industry-friendly expertsfunded organizations]] , and [[think tanks]] that try trying to manipulate public opinionon behalf of [[corporations]] or government. We also highlight key public policies they are trying to affect and provide ways to get involved. In addition, SourceWatch contains information about others who help document information about PR spin, such as reporters, academics, and watchdog groups. To get started, there's a link to your left on the basics of how you can help write history. We also have guides, such as [[How to research front groups|how to research front groups]] and uncover [[Resources for studying propaganda|propaganda]] tactics, such as the use of the "[[third party technique]]," as well as [[Research using the web|great insider tips for web researching]].  Launched in 2003, SourceWatch now has <b>{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} [[w:Wikipedia:What is an article|articles]]</b>, as of today, thanks to interested contributors like you, and over six million new visitors to its pages a yearand many returning visitors who rely on our articles regularly.</big> Welcome to the '''SourceWatch''' community! [[Arn Pearson]], Executive Director of the Center for Media and Democracy, publisher of SourceWatch, PRWatch, and BanksterUSA

SourceWatch provides open and simple tools to attract public participation in documenting information about the people, companies, and entities attempting to shape public opinion as well as about select public policy issues. With the experience of the [[Center for Media and Democracy]] (CMD) in researching and writing about spin and propaganda, CMD believes it is vital to a working democracy to increase public scrutiny and public awareness of the people and companies shaping public policy. We think it is imperative to provide useful information about key policies and document disinformation about these issues. And, it is important to help people understand options for addressing these problems. See [http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2003Q4/index.html Flack Attack] for more information about PR spin and the reasons CMD and SourceWatch were founded.

The [[http://www.prwatch.org Center for Media and Democracy]] (CMD) is the publisher of SourceWatch. CMD owns the server and domain names related to SourceWatch. The articles in SourceWatch are released by their authors under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]], so the articles are [[w:open content|open content]]. See [[SourceWatch:CopyrightsCopyright]] and [[SourceWatch:Readers' FAQ]] for information on how you can use SourceWatch content. (Please note, however, that other Other publications of CMD, including our PR Watch web site, remain copyrighted property and should not be used without permission.)

* How to follow the [[SourceWatch:PolicyManual of Style|policies for contributorsfollow our manual of style]].* How to edit articles and find more information on our [[SourceWatch:HelpEditorial Policy|help page]]* How to test out how wiki editing and formatting works by playing in stay within the editing [[SourceWatch:Sandbox|sandboxbounds of our editorial policy]]

* Fixing [[SourceWatch:Find or fix a stub|a stub]]: A stub , which is the small starting kernel for an article. So if you are looking for somewhere to start it is worth having a look here.* Finding the [[SourceWatch:Categories|categories]] index - You can also look through the articles indexed in the various categories

* Checking Using [[SpecialSourceWatch:RandompageCategories|random pagescategories]]to link articles and build the SourceWatch index

* Fixing [[SourceWatchHelp: How Fix An Errorto fix or report an error|errors]]