Multimillionaire and major conservative political donor Robert Mercer funneled millions to an organization that produced mock television ads depicting an Islamic cultural takeover of France and the United States. The ads were reportedly targeted at battleground states during the 2016 general election.
The social welfare organization Secure America Now created the ads and received $2 million in funding from Mercer, by far the highest amount donated by a single individual, the Center for Responsive Politics reported Thursday, citing tax records.
One of the videos showed star and crescent symbol of Islam perched atop the Eiffel Tower and the famous painting Mona Lisa adorned with a burka. Other images also showed Islamic writing and words replacing French language on signs around Paris and at tourist spots like the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Arc de Triomphe.
Another video was titled "Islamic States of America." The clip blames immigration from predominantly Muslim countries for allowing the country to be taken over, and the iconic Hollywood sign was replaced with the "Allahu Akbar." That video was first posted to YouTube on November 5, 2016, three days before the general election, while the Paris ad was posted October 18 the same year.
Secure American Now used both Facebook and Google to target voters in states. The group is classified as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, a type of non-profit that must prove it serves some sort of social welfare purpose and technically is not required to disclose the names of its donors, according to the Tax Policy Center.
Along with the millions Mercer gave the group, it also received $1.1 million from billionaire and heir to the Estee Lauder Companies Ronald S. Lauder. And $60,000 in total came from a former CEO of Best Buy, Brad Anderson, and the founder of Best Buy, Dick Schulze, the tax records showed, according to CRP.
Mercer has long been a top political donor to conservative candidates and raised millions for President Donald Trump's successful campaign. He also backed Trump's former chief political strategist in the White House, Steve Bannon, and started controversial data firm Cambridge Analytica.
In November, Mercer stepped down as co-chief executive of his hedge fund Renaissance Technologies after the firm began to lose clients angered by Mercer's political dealings.
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