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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Has a Nevada casino magnate been a major backer of the GOP's defense of the Senate?

Sunday, November 1, 2020

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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YES

Nevada casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam Adelson, who is a physician and Israel's richest person, have been the largest donors during the 2020 campaign to Sen. Mitch McConnell's Senate Leadership Fund, contributing a total of $60 million. The fund is a "super-PAC," a campaign fund that can back various candidates in the party's bid to hold majority control.

Adelson, the wealthiest man in Nevada, founded Las Vegas Sands, which operates casino-hotels in Las Vegas, Singapore and China. Open Secrets, compiling Federal Election Commission reports, says Sands-affiliated individuals made donations of $44 million in 2016 and $62 million in 2018 to Republican-related groups. Beyond the founder's support for the Senate Leadership Fund, Adelson and Sands have donated $61 million to other Republican groups ahead of the 2020 elections.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Open Secrets: Senate Leadership Fund contributors, 2020 cycle

Open Secrets: Las Vegas Sands contributions since 1990

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.