# Money, Media, and Information

Money buys more than advertising: it funds staff, research, litigation, access, candidate pipelines, think tanks, durable networks, and the ability to wait. Legal independence and substantive influence are different questions. Trace provenance, disclosure, coordination, agenda setting, and the conversion of wealth into repeated access.

Information systems select what becomes public reality. Journalism, propaganda, leaks, rumors, platforms, algorithms, influencers, and networked conspiracies operate through different mechanisms. Do not call disagreement misinformation; identify the specific factual claim, evidence, source, intent when knowable, and distribution mechanism.
