“Non -partisan” Kansas Values Institute spends $81,000 in two months attacking Pro-Life Republicans

The “political nonprofit” Kansas Values Institute is not subject to any disclosure of its political ads before the election, but Google’s political ad transparency helps lend an understanding of the “values” KVI espouses its pro-abortion media campaign.

Kansas Values Institute bought ads on the Google Ads platform to target three Kansas senate candidates in August, and five in September, with more likely scheduled in October. KVI is funded primarily by teachers unions, abortion-related organizations, “dark money” concealed traded through networks of multiple non-profit organizations, and the Democrat Governors’ Association.

All targeted candidates are Republican even though 501(c)(4) nonprofit Kansas Values Institute is “nonpartisan.”

The Google Ads Transparency Center shows all individual Kansas Values Institute political advertising going back several years.

What is an “impression”?

Google say an impression is counted each time an ad is shown.

Google’s definition of an “impression.”

KVI ad targeting (so far)

KVI targets their ads on certain individuals. Google transparency records says this is who is being targeted:

  • Age: Voting age(18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, ≥65)
  • Gender:  All (Male, Female, Unknown)
  • Geography:  Specific ZIP codes by senate district

August ads

KVI ads in August saw about 1.5 million impressions and cost around $25,000 to target Adam ThomasKellie Warren and Mike Thompson for Kansas senate.

August KVI ads pushed “reproductive freedom” also know as abortion. 

Kansas Catholic archbishop Joseph Nauman recently said we’re living in the “Twilight Zone” over the abortion issue.

In 2024, we are living in a culture that is in a moral twilight zonewhere evil is revered as good, and what is noble is considered disgraceful. In this ethically topsy-turvy twilight zone, abortion — described by early feminists Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul as the ultimate exploitation of women — is now hailed as the cornerstone of women’s rights.

Abortion is euphemistically referred to as “reproductive health care.” How can anyone take seriously the label “reproductive health care,” when it results in one patient (the child) dead and the other (the mother) emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and often physically scarred?

September ads

In September KVI added two additional senate candidates to their list of three from August.  Jeff Klemp and TJ Rose joined the September list. 

These five ads received about 3 million impressions and cost about $55,000.

October ads?

KVI mostly has a single modus operandi: Former Gov. Sam Brownback is a bogeyman that must be denigrated whenever possible for political gain even with lies.

KVI’s claims about Brownback and education funding are provably falseusing data from the Kansas Department of Education.

Thanks to the Google Ads Transparency Center we’ll know the weekly spending on their October ads. But what about other platforms?

Don’t be shocked by the numbers: In the four weeks before the Nov. 2022 general election Kansas Values Institute spend $435,000 on Google ads. 

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Earl Glynn – Watchdog Lab

Earl F. Glynn is a mostly-retired data scientist, scientific programmer, software engineer and physical scientist living in the Kansas City metro area, and the publisher of the substack Watchdog Lab.