Lobby groups

Activities

• Anti-defamation organizations issue responses or criticisms to real or supposed slights of any sort (including speech or violence) by an individual or group against a specific segment of the population which the organization exists to represent.
• Watchdog groups exist to provide oversight and rating of actions or media by various outlets, both government and corporate. They may also index personalities, organizations, products, and activities in databases to provide coverage and rating of the value or viability of such entities to target demographics.
• Lobby groups lobby for a change to the law or the maintenance of a particular law, while big businesses fund very significant lobbying efforts that influence legislators, as seen in the US and in the UK where lobbying first developed. Some Lobby groups have considerable financial resources at their disposal. Lobbying is regulated to stop the worst abuses which can develop into corruption. In the United States the Internal Revenue Service makes a clear distinction between lobbying and advocacy.
• Lobby groups spend considerable amounts of money on election advertising as well. For example, the 2011 documentary film Hot Coffee contains interviews of former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver E. Diaz Jr. and evidence the US Chamber of Commerce paid for advertising to unseat him.
• Legal defense funds provide financial support for the legal defense or legal actions taken on behalf of individuals or groups aligned with their specific interests or target demographic. This is often accompanied by one of the above types of advocacy groups filing an amicus curiae if the cause at stake serves the interests of both the legal defense fund and the other advocacy groups.
• Astroturfing groups mask the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. It is a practice intended to give the statements or organizations credibility by withholding information about the source's financial connection.
• Media advocacy groups use mass media to advocate the incorporation of equitable public policies- particularly policies aimed at benefiting historically marginalized communities.