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Chris Shugart founded the American Association of Independent Voters in 2003 in an effort to expand the reach of Friends of Ernest into a national presence. It was also a response to the gains that the New Media had been making in the political arena.
AAIV continued to publish reliable and accurate information to give voters the opportunity to make informed decisions at the ballot box. Shugart recognized how facts could be easily reassembled and manipulated into preconceived agendas. It’s called media spin.
There was a time when the authoritative words of TV anchors and newspaper editors went largely unchallenged. That’s no longer the case. The New Media had not only risen to that challenge, they provided a compelling case for how unreliable the mainstream media has become.
The American Association of Independent Voters provided an independent perspective from outside the Old Media status quo. AAIV pointed out the differences between news as useful information and political talking points posing as news. The organization became a forum for voters seeking practical alternatives to the old political orthodoxies.