To whom it may concern: On February 5, 2024, the news site “In Depth New Hampshire” (for whom I have a great deal of respect – so this is not leveled at them as I believe they were unaware) published a “News Release” entitled “What to do about teen dating violence.”
At the end of the news release was a link to the NHCADSV website and a number to text.
The photograph used at the head of the article is linked to “Love is Respect,” which is another non-profit. You can look up their ad campaigns easily online and see that they launch these every year and that the “news release” in In Depth is essentially a repeat of an advertising campaign that goes back to at least 2019.
The teens in the photograph at the head of the article wear T-shirts in a certain shade of blue and a certain shade of yellow/gold, with pants in blue and grey, respectively. These are models for an advertisement.
My research indicates that this article is not a “news release” but a piece of branded content/advertising tied to the Democratic Party fundraising via NNEDV and NHCADSV, whose director of public affairs is Amanda Grady Sexton, listed on Opencorporates.com as a director of Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s re-election campaign committee. Senator Shaheen is in charge of the U.S. Senate committee, which obtains VAWA grants for NH.
I believe money is raised from engagement in the article and clicks on the links with a partnership to Target 🎯, possibly who have partnership campaigns for non-profits and pay 8% (per their partnership site) back to their partners). I believe that the fact that the article was published by In Depth will be used by the promoters as an “endorsement” for the ad campaign and non-profits and advertisers involved.
I believe that the clothing worn by the models in the photograph is available at Target or a partner retail shop for the campaign. I believe that the coloring of the rainbow in the photo is also carefully picked to market to teenagers. Articles on Researchgate by Sharyn Potter of UNH partnered with the NHCADSV talk about social media campaigns and making them more realistic to students.
Chessy Prout, NH State Witness in NH v Owen Labrie, did an ad campaign for Target 🎯 as a “Survivor” for the non-profit “Vital Voices” tied to the Clinton Foundation, which is represented for PR by SKDK (a Democratic Campaign PR company) who also represent “Its On Us” which she has stated she worked with before the criminal trial of NH v Owen Labrie. “It’s On Us” is tied to Blue Crab Strategies and Civic Nation, which is headed by Valerie Jarrett, who was Obama’s Chief of Staff, and headed “Not Alone,” which was strategically tied to UNH PIRC and Sharyn Potter. UNH PIRC is tied to NHCADSV, whose legal counsel includes David Vicinanzo – a Clinton appointee, and Shaheen & Gordon, whose founding partner ran Hillary Clinton’s 2007/8 campaign and her 2016 SuperPac.
“It’s On Us” joined NHCADSV, NHCADSV, Amanda Grady Sexton, NNEDV, Congresswoman Ann Kuster in a social media and phone campaign in July 2019 to block ABC /GMA from airing an interview between Amy Robach and Owen Labrie. They used the #SurvivorsOverRatings, for which I believe there were financial kickbacks from advertising partners to the organizations (including NHCADSV and NNEDV, who are tied to this “Love is Respect” campaign) involved.
At the time the interview should have aired, the class action lawsuit Rapuano & Does v Dartmouth Board of Trustees was in mediation. The PR for the suit was paid for by Times Up/NWLC – another client of SKDK like Its On Us. Congresswoman Kuster supported the suit. NHCADSV were financial beneficiaries of the settlement. They received what appears to be $2.865 million. That money appears to have gone towards Every Voice Matters Coalition, which is part of Its On Us, which is part of Civic Nation and therefore a fundraiser for the Democratic Party.
One of the attorneys who led the suit is Steven J. Kelly Esq, who lobbied the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for A Survivors Bill of Rights in May 2015. Senator Jeanne Shaheen introduced this in 2016 when it passed. Kelly had been introduced to Chessy Prout by Laura L Dunn (an advisor to the WH “Not Alone” task force and a protege of Vice President Joe Biden), who had been recommended by Concord PD Julie Curtin, whose budget to investigate NH v Owen Labrie had been approved by the City of Concord Public Safety committee chaired by Amanda Grady Sexton on Senator Shaheen’s campaign committee.
Amanda Grady Sexton co-authored a guide to Pretrial publicity with Steven J. Kelly, who was on the board of directors for the National Crime Victims Law Institute, which published the guide, recognized Laura L Dunn as a “partner spotlight” in 2014, recommended Amanda Grady Sexton to Gordon MacDonald and/or Congresswoman Ann Kuster and recognized Concord PD, Julie Curtin. Early in the trial, Laura L Dunn announced that her client (later known as Chessy Prout) was a “Survivor.”
The exclusive TV coverage had been granted to WMUR, whose political director is married to Amanda Grady Sexton, who attended the trial to keep tabs on the media (per Concord Monitor) and who acted as a go-between between the Prout family and the Prosecutor (per Chessy Prout) and as the person who shaped the media for police, prosecutors and civil attorneys (per her own bio).
Political advertising that is not stated as such is deceptive and dangerous for parents and families. The NHCADSV news release is deceptive political advertising.
I trust you will take action and force the NHCADSV to be more transparent about its “news releases” and to admonish those involved in deceptive practices of using “news releases” for political agendas.
Thank you.
This is an email from Clair Best to the NH AG and a number of other recipients, including Nancy West (In-Depth NH).
