The Fraser Instituts: The masters of fake reports and right wing lies

7 Disturbing Facts About the Fraser Institute

Most Canadians have heard of the Fraser Institute, the British Columbia-based “think tank”. Its reports and “studies” are often covered in the mainstream media as independent and objective.

But the truth is that the Fraser Institute exists to promote rightwing ideology. It was created and is funded by big corporate interests who sought to change government policy to enrich themselves.

Here are 7 facts about the Fraser Institute that they don’t want you to know:

1. The Fraser Institute’s research wing was created with money from tobacco companies. The Institute’s “Social Affairs Centre”, set up to promote “free-market” policies on tobacco, guns, and drug use was funded by tobacco giants Rothman’s and Phillip Morris. In 1999, the Fraser Institute wrote letters to British American Tobacco begging for more funding, highlighting reports they had done to discredit science around the harms of second-hand smoke.

2. The Fraser Institute was a leading opponent of anti-smoking laws, and promoted junk science that denied the harmful effects of second-hand smoke. The Institute, funded by Big Tobacco, produced numerous “studies” that attempted to discredit scientific research on smoking. In particular, the Institute worked to undermine public perception of second-hand smoke. While proven to be harmful, the Institute published numerous reports claiming that second-hand smoke was safe.

Read more: https://north99.org/2018/02/15/7-disturbing-facts-fraser-institute/