Fortune is running a Koch Industry advertisement-as-commentary piece today ‘authored’ by Jim Mahoney, the employee signaled out in a Huffington Post article last month as leading a $10M campaign against EVs.

The piece doesn’t directly reference Tesla by name, but it does feature pictures of the Model S both in Fortune’s article and subsequent social media push by the publication (see above).

We advised that these hit pieces were coming but didn’t know they’d be coming so soon.

It looks like electric vehicles are still in the “fighting phase” as we learn today that billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are planning to back a new group of lobbyists with a focus on “boosting petroleum-based transportation fuels and attacking government subsidies for electric vehicles”, according to refining industry sources talking to the Huffington Post…. According to the Huffington Post, the Kochs are teaming up with James Mahoney, a member of their company’s board, and lobbyist Charlie Drevna, who until recently was the head of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. Their mission will be to “make the public aware of all the benefits of petroleum-based transportation fuels”.

Mahoney is a petroleum industry veteran who uses a few tired gems like:

The truth is, however, that Koch Industries does not oppose electric vehicles, nor is it trying to prevent new energy businesses or technologies from succeeding.

and

Koch opposes all market-distorting policies, including subsidies and mandates—even if they may benefit the company.

The serious bottom line here is that Fortune is getting Koch money to further their climate changing agenda. Nowhere in the post, does the author address the real carbon concern of fossil fuels and the inherent risks to humanity that the Koch Brothers are advocating for. Especially misleading is the refrain that the Federal tax subsidy is only for the wealthy.

Look out for more Koch-vertising in a for sale periodical near you.

We’ve reached out to Fortune, asking how much the ‘advertisement as article cost’ and if it would be running in the paper version of the publication.

Update: No word but we’ve been pointed to the Fortune article where they play dumb, below:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

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