Candidate Accountability Research Training
Join Sunlight Research for a comprehensive five-session training designed to teach you how to deeply profile political candidates. Through our expert-led sessions, you'll gain the skills and tools to uncover a candidate's history and report critical information your community needs to make decisions on Election Day.
What you'll learn:
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Build a detailed candidate timeline using public records and online sources
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Analyze financial disclosures to reveal hidden assets and liabilities
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Uncover political connections and campaign finance secrets
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Investigate a candidate's educational and professional background
Skills you'll gain:
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Create a compelling narrative about a candidate's life
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Identify potential conflicts of interest and ethical red flags
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Produce in-depth investigative reports
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Use a timeline to create informative visualizations
Training Overview
Session 1:
Backgrounding Basics
(with MuckRock)
Create a Timeline:
To understand the pieces of a candidate’s life and how they fit together, we will create a chronology.
Associated People:
Keeping track of who the candidate has associated with, such as major donors, business associates, family members — will help you understand connections as you dig deeper into their background.
File FOIA Requests:
Your timeline and list of associated people will help you understand where the candidate has intersected with public records. The FOIA experts at MuckRock will show you how to find public documents that illuminate the candidate’s past.
Session 2:
Getting Personal with Finances
Finding and Analyzing Personal Financial Disclosures:
Analyze personal financial disclosures that candidates file at the federal, state and local levels. Using a Sunlight-developed analytical tool, you’ll gain critical insights into the candidate's finances.
Business Interests and Assets:
Learn how to find businesses associated with a candidate, including lawsuits against the companies and important federal- and state-level filings.
Property:
Find properties the candidate owns or has owned.
Session 3:
It's All Political
(with Open Secrets)
Political History:
Understand the candidate’s previous involvement in politics from voting history and legislation they filed to interactions with lobbyists.
Campaign Finance:
Analyze contributions to and expenditures from a candidate’s campaign, along with independent expenditures in support of or opposition to the candidate.
Lobbying Records:
Use public records and data to identify ties between the candidate and lobbyists.
Session 4:
Social Media Sleuthing
(with MuckRock)
Beyond Profiles:
Identify a candidate’s social media profiles and learn how to conduct advanced searches. We’ll go beyond the usual Facebook and X to look into alternative social media sites, messaging platforms, forums and online fundraising websites.
Tracking Changes:
Learn to use Wayback Machine, Klaxon and other tools to track how and when the candidate changes information on a website.
Connect the Dots:
Analyze social media profiles to identify potential red flags.
Session 5:
School and Work
Alumni Questions:
Identify high schools, colleges and graduate schools the candidate attended — and whether their claims about attending and graduating are accurate.
Candidate Resume:
Using public data and online resources, create a timeline of the candidate’s professional history. Learn where to find business and professional licenses and whether the candidate is in good standing.
Government Loans:
Search government databases to find out if the candidate is connected with businesses that have received government loans.
Upcoming Trainings
September 11th
Weekly Schedule
- Sept. 11, 2 to 3 p.m. ET: Backgrounding Basics (with MuckRock)
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Sept. 18, 2 to 3 p.m. ET: Getting Personal with Finances
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Sept. 25, 2 to 3 p.m. ET: It's All Political (with Open Secrets)
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Oct. 2, 2 to 3 p.m. ET: Social Media Sleuthing (with MuckRock)
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Oct. 9, 2 to 3 p.m. ET: School & Work
Enrollment ends Sept. 9
September 25th
Intensive Schedule
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Sept. 25, 1 to 2 p.m. ET: Backgrounding Basics (with MuckRock)
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Sept. 27, 1 to 2 p.m. ET: Getting Personal with Finances
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Sept. 30, 1 to 2 p.m. ET: It's All Political (with Open Secrets)
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Oct. 2, 1 to 2 p.m. ET: Social Media Sleuthing (with MuckRock)
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Oct. 4, 1 to 2 p.m. ET: School & Work
Enrollment ends Sept. 23.
October 1st
Intensive Schedule
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Oct. 1, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET: Backgrounding Basics (with MuckRock)
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Oct. 3, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET: Getting Personal with Finances
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Oct. 7, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET: It's All Political (with Open Secrets)
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Oct. 9, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET: Social Media Sleuthing (with MuckRock)
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Oct. 11, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET: School & Work
Enrollment ends Sept. 27.
