Paul Glader
Executive Editor
Religion Unplugged
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Ensign Peak Advisers faces Judgment |
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Stories we broke in 2019 about a secretive $100 billion investment fund inside the LDS church rippled across the investing world and the religion press with more than 300 news outlets following our scoops and ongoing reporting on the story continuing by ReligionUnplugged.com and other outlets such as The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. ReligionUnplugged.com continued on this story when other media outlets moved on and thought the story was out of the news cycle. In March of 2023, ReligionUnplugged.com delivered another scoop by publishing a document that whistleblower David Nielsen and his lawyers filed to two powerful congressional committees in Washington. The exclusive update story and embedded document generated massive traffic of more than 20,000 page views and 7,700 shares. Shortly after that story, the Securities and Exchange Commission fined the LDS Church and its Ensign Peak Advisers firm had to pay a $5 million settlement for not being transparent with regulators or the public. The judgement had major impact on the LDS church and its members. A couple of months later the program CBS 60 Minutes followed the story with an interview of the whistleblower David Nielsen and an overview of the story. The whistleblower, Nielsen, continues to hope for a reward from the IRS for revealing the practices of Ensign Peak Advisers. Religion Unplugged has performed a vital role in this ongoing story by breaking scoops and updating the story as it moves along. It shows that a non-profit news outlet is able to investigate and explain and report news in a unique way that can make a difference as a watchdog. It can also serve people in religious communities by pointing out major stories like this one, showing how powerful institutions can be more transparent and honest with their members and constituents. |
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Religion Unplugged: Paul Glader |
