A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as
intelligence agencies,
organized crime
Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
groups,
terrorist organization
Several national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and former ...
s,
secret societies
A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...
, banned organizations, religious or political groups,
advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
s, or
corporation
A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...
s. Front organizations can act for the parent group without the actions being attributed to the parent group, thereby allowing them to hide certain activities from the authorities or the public.
Front organizations that appear to be independent
voluntary association
A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to a ...
s or
charitable organization
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definitio ...
s are called front groups. In the business world, front organizations such as front companies or
shell corporation
A shell corporation is a company or corporation with no significant assets or operations often formed to obtain financing before beginning business. Shell companies were primarily vehicles for lawfully hiding the identity of their beneficial ...
s are used to shield the
parent company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
from legal liability. In
international relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
, a
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...
is a
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
which acts as a front (or surrogate) for another state.
Intelligence agencies
Intelligence agencies use front organizations to provide "cover", plausible occupations and means of income, for their covert agents. These may include legitimate organizations, such as charity, religious or journalism organizations; or "
brass plate firms" which exist solely to provide a plausible background story, occupation, and means of income.
Brewster Jennings & Associates
Brewster Jennings & Associates was a front company set up in 1994 by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a cover for its officers. The most famous is Valerie Plame, a " covert employee of the CIA" whose then- classified status was published ...
was a front company set up in 1994 by the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) as a cover for its officers.
The airline
Air America, an outgrowth of
Civil Air Transport
Civil Air Transport (CAT) was a Nationalist Chinese airline, later owned by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), that supported the United States' covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia. During the Cold War, missions consi ...
of the 1940s, and
Southern Air Transport, ostensibly a civilian air charter company, were operated and wholly owned by the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
, supposedly to provide
humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...
, but flew many combat support missions and supplied
covert operation
A covert operation or undercover operation is a military or police operation involving a covert agent or troops acting under an assumed cover to conceal the identity of the party responsible.
US law
Under US law, the Central Intelligence A ...
s in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Other CIA-funded front groups have been used to spread American
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
and influence during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, particularly in the
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...
.
When intelligence agencies work through legitimate organizations, it can cause problems and increased risk for the workers of those organizations. To prevent this, the CIA has had a 20-year policy (since 1976, per US Government sources) of not using
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
members or US journalists for intelligence purposes.
Another airline allegedly involved in intelligence operations was Russian
Aeroflot
PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...
that worked in a close coordination with
KGB
The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
,
SVR and
GRU
Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series.
Gru or GRU may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper
* Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga''
Organizations Georgia (c ...
.
[Alexander Kouzminov ''Biological Espionage: Special Operations of the Soviet and Russian Foreign Intelligence Services in the West'', Greenhill Books, 2006, ] The company conducted forcible "evacuations" of Soviet citizens from foreign countries back to the USSR. People whose loyalty was questioned were drugged and delivered unconscious by Aeroflot planes, assisted by the company KGB personnel, according to former GRU officer
Victor Suvorov
Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun (; ; born 20 April 1947), known by his pseudonym of Viktor Suvorov (), is a former Soviet GRU officer who is the author of non-fiction books about World War II, the GRU and the Soviet Army, as well as fictional books ...
. In the 1980s and 1990s, specimens of deadly bacteria and viruses stolen from Western laboratories were delivered by Aeroflot to support the
Russian program of biological weapons. This delivery channel encoded VOLNA ("wave") meant "delivering the material via an international flight of the Aeroflot airline in the pilots' cabin, where one of the pilots was a KGB officer".
At least two SVR agents died, presumably from the transported pathogens.
When businessman
Nikolai Glushkov was appointed as a top manager of Aeroflot in 1996, he found that the airline company worked as a "
cash cow to support international spying operations" according to
Alex Goldfarb:
[ Alex Goldfarb, with Marina Litvinenko '' Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB'', The Free Press, 2007, ] 3,000 people out of the total workforce of 14,000 in Aeroflot were
FSB, SVR, or GRU officers. All proceeds from ticket sales were distributed to 352 foreign bank accounts that could not be controlled by the Aeroflot administration. Glushkov closed all these accounts and channeled the money to an accounting center called Andava in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
He also sent a bill and wrote a letter to SVR director
Yevgeni Primakov and FSB director
Mikhail Barsukov asking them to pay salaries of their intelligence officers in Aeroflot in 1996.
Glushkov was imprisoned in 2000 on charges of illegally channeling money through Andava. Since 2004 the company is controlled by
Viktor Ivanov, a high-ranking FSB official who is a close associate of
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
.
Law enforcement
The
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
has acknowledged using at least thirteen front companies to conceal their use of aircraft to observe criminal activity in the United States, including:
* KQM Aviation
* NBR Aviation
* NG Research
* PXW Services
* FVX Research
Organized crime

Many
organized crime operations have substantial legitimate businesses, such as licensed
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
houses, building construction companies, hair salons and karaoke bars, engineering firms, restaurants and bars, billiard clubs, trash hauling services, or dock loading enterprises. These front companies enable these criminal organizations to
launder their income from illegal activities. As well, the front companies provide plausible cover for illegal activities such as
illegal gambling,
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
,
drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...
,
smuggling
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
, and
prostitution
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...
.
Tattoo
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...
parlors are often used as fronts for
outlaw motorcycle club
An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of Cruiser (motorcycle), cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and chopper (motorcycle ...
s.
Where
brothel
A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
s are illegal, criminal organizations set up front companies providing services such as a "
massage parlor
A massage parlor (American English), or massage parlour (Canadian/British English), or massage salon is a place where massage services are provided. Some massage parlors are front organizations for prostitution and the term "massage parlor" has ...
" or "sauna" to the point that "massage parlor" or "sauna" is thought as a synonym of
brothel
A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
in these countries.
Examples
A Colombian drug cartel, the
Cali Cartel, in the past used Drogas La Rebaja, now a large national pharmacy store chain, as a front company in order to launder their drug trafficking earnings.
The General Manager of the Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club in
Cheektowaga, New York
Cheektowaga (; ) is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is ...
, is the international leader of the
Outlaws Motorcycle Club
The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, Incorporation (business), incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in McCook, Illinois in 1935, the Outlaws MC is the oldest outlaw ...
: John Ermin. Many Outlaws MC members also work at the club. Authorities have referred to Pharaoh's as a hot spot for drug dealing and sex trafficking. The club's owner is Peter G. Gerace Jr., the nephew of reputed
Buffalo crime family boss Joseph A. Todaro Jr. The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, themselves, have been designated by federal law enforcement as a criminal enterprise.
In the early 2000s, the
Black Mafia Family established the Atlanta-based
record label
"Big Three" music labels
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
BMF Entertainment as a front company to launder funds that were generated from the sale of
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
.
The boxing management company
MTK Global is owned by the reputed Irish gang boss
Daniel Kinahan
Daniel Joseph Kinahan (born 25 June 1977) is an Irish boxing promoter and suspected crime boss. He has been named by the High Court of Ireland as a senior figure in organised crime on a global scale. The Criminal Assets Bureau has stated he " ...
. Heredia Boxing Management alleges that MTK Global was established as a front company to launder funds made from drug trafficking.
During the year of 2019,
ACT Police shut down the Lakeside Tattoo Parlour in
Belconnen
Belconnen () is a Lands administrative divisions of Australia#Australian Capital Territory, district in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. As at the , the ...
on the grounds of it being allegedly used to launder cash for the notorious outlaw motorcycle gang,
Comanchero Motorcycle Club. The money laundered through the tattoo parlor allegedly came from the club's
drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...
operations.
Religion
Scientology
The
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...
uses front groups either to promote its interests in politics, to make its group seem more legitimate, and to recruit.
The
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
's July 8, 1977 raids on the Church's offices (following discovery of the Church's
Operation Snow White
Operation Snow White was a criminal conspiracy by the Church of Scientology during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. This project included a series of infiltrations into and thefts from ...
) turned up, among other documents, an undated memo entitled "PR General Categories of Data Needing Coding". This memo listed what it called "Secret PR Front Groups," which included the group APRL, "Alliance for the Preservation of Religious Liberty" (later renamed "Americans Preserving Religious Liberty").
The
Cult Awareness Network
The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was an anti-cult organization founded by deprogrammer Ted Patrick that provided information on groups it considered "cults", as well as support and referrals to deprogrammers. It operated (initially under the ...
(CAN) is considered by many to now be a front group for the Church of Scientology, which took the group over financially after bankrupting it in a series of lawsuits.
''Time'' identified several other fronts for Scientology, including: the
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...
(CCHR),
The Way to Happiness Foundation,
Applied Scholastics
Applied Scholastics (APS) is an organization that promotes and licenses the use of study techniques created by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. Applied Scholastics is operated by the Church of Scientology.
Overview
Applied Sch ...
, the
Concerned Businessmen's Association of America, and
HealthMed Clinic. Seven years later the ''
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...
'' showed how
Narconon
Narconon International (commonly known as Narconon) is a Scientology organization which promotes the theories of founder L. Ron Hubbard regarding substance abuse drug rehabilitation, treatment and addiction. Its parent company is the Associat ...
and
World Literacy Crusade were also fronts for Scientology.
Other Scientology groups include
Downtown Medical,
Criminon and the
Association for Better Living and Education
The Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) is a non-profit front organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California, established and operated by the Church of Scientology. It states that it is "dedicated to creating a better futur ...
(ABLE).
Unification Church
Politics
In politics, a group may be called a front organization if it is perceived to be disingenuous in its control or goals or if it attempts to mask extremist views within a supposedly more moderate group. Some special interest groups engage in
astroturfing
Astroturfing is the deceptive practice of hiding the Sponsor (commercial), sponsors of an orchestrated message or organization (e.g., political, economic, advertising, religious, or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from ...
, an attempt to mask lobbying as a
grassroots movement.
Apartheid government fronts
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
's
apartheid
Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
-era government used numerous front organizations to influence world opinion and to undertake
extra-judicial activities and the killing of anti-apartheid activists; these included the following:
*''
The Citizen'' – funded secretly by the government and was intended to challenge the liberal ''
Rand Daily Mail'', contributing to the political ruin of
John Vorster
Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983), better known as John Vorster, was a South African politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state president of So ...
and
Connie Mulder
*
Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB) – a covert, special forces organization that harassed, seriously injured, and eliminated anti-apartheid activists
*
Federal Independent Democratic Alliance (FIDA) – a conservative black group.
*
International Freedom Foundation – Washington-based mechanism to combat sanctions and support
Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Malheiro Sidónio Sakaita Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary, politician, and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( UNITA). UNITA was on ...
and
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Liberat ...
*
Jeugkrag – or Youth for South Africa, led by
Marthinus van Schalkwyk as a short-lived Afrikaner youth group, surreptitiously funded by the Military Intelligence's Project Essay
*National Student Federation (NSF) – led by
Russell Crystal, intended to challenge
NUSAS
*
Roodeplaat Research Laboratories – Led by
Daan Goosen, the main research facility of
Project Coast
*
Taussig Familienstiftung
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gr ...
, or Taussig Family Trust - a
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
conduit for secret government transactions
*Veterans for Victory – consisting of
national service
National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
men, a countermeasure to the
End Conscription Campaign, which was allied to the
United Democratic Front (UDF)
Communist fronts
Communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
parties (especially
Marxist-Leninist ones) have sometimes used front organizations to attract support from those (sometimes called "
fellow travellers") who do not fully agree with the party's ideology but agree with certain aspects of it. The front organization often obscures its provenance and may often be a tool for recruitment. Other
Marxists
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, and ...
often describe front organizations as
opportunist. The concept of a front organization should be distinguished from the
united front
A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...
(a
coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
of
working class
The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
or
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
parties) and the
popular front. Both the united front and the popular front usually disclose the groups that make up their coalitions.
United States
According to a list prepared in 1955 by the United States
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee
The United States Senate's Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951–77, known more commonly as the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) and sometimes the M ...
, the
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...
set up no less than 82 front organizations in the United States in the 1930s and the 1940s.
[Richard Felix Staar, ]
Foreign policies of the Soviet Union
', Hoover Press, 1991, , p.79, p.84
Soviet intelligence
infiltrated many peace movements in the West. In addition to the
World Peace Council
The World Peace Council (WPC) is an international organization created in 1949 by the Cominform and propped up by the Soviet Union. Throughout the Cold War, WPC engaged in propaganda efforts on behalf of the Soviet Union, whereby it criticize ...
, important communist front organizations included the
World Federation of Trade Unions
The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...
, the
World Federation of Democratic Youth, and the
International Union of Students
The International Union of Students (IUS) was a worldwide nonpartisan association of university student organizations.
The IUS was the umbrella organization for 155 such students' organizations across 112 countries and Territory (administrative ...
.
[Richard Felix Staar, ]
Foreign policies of the Soviet Union
', Hoover Press, 1991, , p.84 Richard Felix Staar has also suggested that these organizations were somewhat less important front organizations:
Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation,
Christian Peace Conference,
International Association of Democratic Lawyers
International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) is an international organization of left-wing and progressive jurists' associations with sections and members in 50 countries and territories. Along with facilitating contact and exchange of v ...
,
International Federation of Resistance Movements,
International Institute for Peace,
International Organization of Journalists,
Women's International Democratic Federation
The Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) is an international women's rights organization. Established in 1945, it was most active during the Cold War when, according to historian Francisca de Haan, it was "the largest and probably ...
, and
World Federation of Scientific Workers.
[Richard Felix Staar, ]
Foreign policies of the Soviet Union
', Hoover Press, 1991, , p.80-81 There were also numerous smaller organizations, affiliated with the above fronts such as
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an international organization that brings together scholars and public figures to work toward reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats. It was fo ...
.
[Richard Felix Staar, ]
Foreign policies of the Soviet Union
', Hoover Press, 1991, , p.82-83[Richard Felix Staar, ]
Foreign policies of the Soviet Union
', Hoover Press, 1991, , p.86 Numerous peace conferences, congresses and festivals have been staged with support of those organizations.
[Richard Felix Staar, ]
Foreign policies of the Soviet Union
', Hoover Press, 1991, , p.85
More recently, the
Workers' World Party (WWP) set up an
anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...
front group,
International ANSWER. (ANSWER is no longer closely associated with WWP; it is closely associated with a WWP splinter, the
Party for Socialism and Liberation
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist party, communist political party in the United States, political party in the United States. PSL formed in 2004, when its members split from the Workers World Party.
PSL describes it ...
, but PSL plays a more open role in the organization.) Similarly,
Unite Against Fascism, the
Anti-Nazi League, the
Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts.
It was established on 21 September 2001 to campaign against the impe ...
and
Respect – The Unity Coalition are all criticised as being fronts for the
Trotskyist
Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
Socialist Workers Party (UK)
The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) is a far-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded as the Socialist Review Group (SRG) by supporters of Tony Cliff in 1950, it became the International Socialists in 1962 and the SWP in 1977. The p ...
.
Russia
In April 1991, the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
leadership and the
KGB
The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
created a puppet political party in Russia, the
Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union (LDPSU), which became the second officially-registered party in the country.
According to KGB General
Philipp Bobkov, it was a "
Zubatov's pseudo-party under KGB control that directs interests and sentiments of certain social groups".
[ Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev ''Time of darkness'', Moscow, 2003, , page 574 ()] The former
Soviet Politburo member
Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev described in his book how KGB Director
Vladimir Kryuchkov
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kryuchkov (; 29 February 1924 – 23 November 2007) was a Soviet lawyer, diplomat, and head of the KGB, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
Initially working in the Soviet justice system a ...
presented the project of the puppet party at a joint meeting with
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
and informed him about a selection of party leaders and the mechanism of funding from Communist Party money.
The book includes an official copy of a document providing the initial Liberal Democratic Party funding (3 million rubles) from the Communist Party's money. The Liberal Democratic leader,
Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky (, , né Eidelstein, ; 25 April 1946 – 6 April 2022) was a Russian right-wing populist politician and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) from its creation in 1992 until his death in 20 ...
, proved to be an effective media performer
and gained 8% of votes during the
1991 presidential elections.
He also supported the
August 1991 coup attempt.
China
The
united front
A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...
is a political strategy and network of groups and key individuals that are influenced or controlled by the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP) and used to advance its interests. It has traditionally been a
popular front that has included eight
legally permitted political parties: the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...
(CPPCC), the
All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the
China Council for the Promotion of International Trade
The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), also called the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), is a trade body founded in 1952. CCPIT is controlled by the Ministry of Commerce.
History
In response to the ...
, the
All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and other
people's organization
People's organization is a generic term for organizations in the China, People's Republic of China excluding governments, the official departments of government, and State-owned enterprises of China, state-owned enterprises or institutions, yet ar ...
s. Under
Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
, the united front and its targets of influence have expanded in size and scope. The united front is managed primarily by but is not limited to the
United Front Work Department
The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tasked with " united front work". It gathers intelligence on, manages relations with, and attempts to gain influence over ...
(UFWD).
Other
An
anti-Islamist feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
group in the
Muslim world
The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
has also been accused of being a front organization. The
Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq has been accused of being a front for the
Worker-Communist Party of Iraq.
Other
United States
Historian Matthew Dallek writes that the
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, right-wing populist, and ...
's (JBS) pioneering use of front organizations starting in the late 1950s helped spread far-right issues outside of the JBS and into broader public discourse and that it "became a template for conservative advocacy for decades to come."
In 2014,
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...
established a front political party, the
Women's Equality Party. The party was established to take advantage of
electoral fusion
Electoral fusion in the United States is an arrangement where two or more United States political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, allowing that candidate to receive votes on multiple party lines in the same election.
Electoral fus ...
laws in
New York State
New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
that allow candidates to run on multiple ballot lines and to count all of their votes together. Critics of the party and of Cuomo have noted that there is an inherent level of deception involved in the party, as Cuomo is not a woman, the party has not favored women in its endorsement policies, and Cuomo's gubernatorial campaign fund is the primary source of revenue for the party's operations.
Banned paramilitary organizations
Banned paramilitary organizations sometimes use front groups to achieve a public face with which to raise funds, negotiate with opposition parties, recruit, and spread propaganda. For example, banned
paramilitary
A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.
Overview
Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
organizations often have an affiliated
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
that operates more openly, but those parties themselves often end up being banned. The parties may or may not be front organizations in the narrow sense (they have varying degrees of autonomy, and the relationships are usually something of an
open secret
An open secret is information that was originally intended to be confidential but has at some point been disclosed and is known to many people. Open secrets are ''secrets'' in the sense that they are excluded from formal or official discourse, b ...
) but are widely considered to be so, especially by their political opponents.
Examples are the relationship between the
Provisional IRA
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
and
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
in 1980s
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
or between the
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
groups
ETA
Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...
(paramilitary) and
Batasuna
Batasuna (; ) was a Basque nationalist political party. Based mainly in Spain, it was banned in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money.
The party is included in the "European Union list of ...
(party) in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Similarly, in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, when the
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...
was highly stigmatized, it often operated largely through front groups. In addition, the Provisional IRA also operated a
vigilante front group,
Direct Action Against Drugs.
Both Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries in Ireland during
the Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
used cover names when they carried out sectarian attacks against civilians.
Republican groups like the Provisional IRA and the
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ) is an Irish republicanism, Irish republican Socialism, socialist paramilitary group formed on 8 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seeks to remove ...
used front names like the
South Armagh Republican Action Force,
Catholic Reaction Force and the People's Republican Army to claim responsibility for attacks on civilians,
Loyalists
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
like the
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...
and the
Ulster Defense Association used various front names such as the
Protestant Action Force,
Ulster Freedom Fighters and
Red Hand Defenders when they carried out attacks against civilians, most of which were aimed at Catholic civilians.
During the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
in Germany, the anti-Semitic and nationalist
Organisation Consul reportedly had a front company named the Bavarian Wood Products Company.
Corporate front organizations
Corporations from a wide variety of different industries, such as food, pharmaceutical and energy, set up front groups to advocate on their behalf.
Some pharmaceutical companies set up "patients' groups" as front organizations that pressure healthcare providers and legislators to adopt their products. For example,
Biogen
Biogen Inc. is an American multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States specializing in the discovery, development, and delivery of the treatment of neurological diseases to patients worldwide. Biogen ope ...
set up a campaign called ''Action for Access'', which also claimed it was an independent organization and the voice of
multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...
sufferers. People who visited the website and signed up for the campaign did not realise that these were not genuinely independent patient groups.
Over the past 15 years, increasing concerns about
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...
have caused
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
to experience pressure from social movement activists to reduce the sugar content in its drinks. Although Coca-Cola has publicly promoted consumer engagement in healthy lifestyles with its campaigns such as '
Coming Together', activists have also exposed that Coca-Cola has secretly funded
front groups or organizations that criticize social movement activists and legitimize controversial corporate activities. The
Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) and
Global Energy Balance Network (GEBN) are two main groups that engage activists on behalf of Coca-Cola even though they were not intended to be publicly associated with Coca-Cola as a corporation. Research has revealed that the CCF, with a mission to "promote responsibility and protect
consumer choice
The theory of consumer choice is the branch of microeconomics that relates preferences to consumption expenditures and to consumer demand curves. It analyzes how consumers maximize the desirability of their consumption (as measured by their pr ...
s", uses both verbal and visual strategies to articulate obesity as "personal responsibility" to protect the industry from corporate responsibility.
Tobacco companies frequently use front organizations and doctors to advocate their arguments about tobacco use although less openly and obviously than in the 1980s. The
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
has charged that the tobacco industry funded seemingly-unbiased scientific organizations to undermine tobacco control measures and cited the
International Life Sciences Institute in particular. Another way to combat public health measures against tobacco is to use lobbying and campaign contributions. For example,
RJ Reynolds
Richard Joshua Reynolds (July 20, 1850 – July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
The son of a tobacco farmer and major slaveowner, he worked for his father and attended Emory & Henry Colle ...
, the current second-largest tobacco company in the United States, created a front group named Get Government Off Our Back ("GGOOB") in 1994 to fight federal regulation of tobacco. By hiding its involvement with tobacco industry, GGOOB avoided the tobacco industry reputation for misrepresenting evidence and drew big supports from both public and legislative aspects, successfully resolving the threats from wide-reaching tobacco regulations.
A list of some alleged corporate front groups active in the US is maintained by the
Multinational Monitor. Some
think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
s are corporate front groups. These organizations present themselves as research organizations, using phrases such as "...Institute for Research" in their names. Because their names suggest neutrality, they can present the commercial strategies of the corporations which sponsor them in a way which appears to be objective
sociological
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociology was coined in ...
or
economical
An economic system, or economic order, is a system of production, resource allocation and distribution of goods and services within an economy. It includes the combination of the various institutions, agencies, entities, decision-making proces ...
research rather than political lobbying.
Similarly the
Center for Regulatory Effectiveness has been criticised as a front organization for various industry bodies which seek to undermine regulation of their environmentally damaging activities under the guise of 'regulatory effectiveness'.
Astroturfing
''Astroturfing'', a wordplay based on "
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
" efforts, is an American term used pejoratively to describe formal
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
projects which try to create the impression of a groundswell of spontaneous popular response to a politician, product, service, or event. Corporations have been known to "astroturf", but are not the only entities alleged to have done so. In recent years, organizations of plaintiffs' attorneys have established front groups such as
Victims and Families United to oppose
tort reform
Tort reform consists of changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes ...
.
Astroturf in the liability wars
PointofLaw.com (sponsored by the Manhattan Institute and American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...
), July 1, 2005
See also
References
External links
Front groups
at SourceWatch
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org.
History
CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Front Organization
Espionage techniques
Types of organization
Secrecy
Deception