About Democracy for Sale

This newsletter is about the threats to democracy from dark money and hidden influence, why it matters…. and what we can do about it.

Written by Peter Geoghegan and Lucas Amin, since launching in July 2023 exclusive stories from Democracy for Sale have featured in the Times, the Financial Times, the Guardian, Politico, Byline Times and more, and led to real world impact.

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read if you want to know all about dark money and its corrosive effect on British politics.”

Killian Fox, 33 of the best Substack newsletters, The Observer, September 2023

Why subscribe?

Our beat is democracy - and the growing threats it faces from unaccountable power, money and influence all over the world.

Peter is the author of the acclaimed best seller Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics. From 2018 to 2013, he was head of UK investigations and then Editor-in-Chief and CEO at the award-winning website openDemocracy. Lucas is an experienced investigative journalist and researcher who worked at openDemocracy and previously led the Request Initiative.

Now we’re doing even more of what we really love: writing, investigating, and lifting the lid on what the powerful want to keep hidden.

This Substack brings you the stories we think really matter, whether that’s dark money warping politics, or the rich and powerful lobbying to block climate action, financial regulation and much, much more.

In this newsletter, we break stories, share source data and other leads, and bring you commentary and analysis that connects the dots.

Our promise to you: we’ll only publish when we think there’s something worthy of your attention.

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A newsletter dedicated to revealing how dark money and hidden influence threaten our democracy

People

Journalist. Writer. Muck racker. OCCRP. Author of best-selling Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics. Founder: the Ferret. Former editor-in-chief: openDemocracy. Irish.