The IRS prohibits a 501(c)(3) “charitable” tax-exempt foundation from conducting certain political activities:

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.

Media Matters was established as a 501(c)(3) and states on its web site that it:

…posts rapid-response items as well as longer research and analytic reports documenting conservative misinformation throughout the media. Additionally, Media Matters works daily to notify activists, journalists, pundits, and the general public about instances of misinformation, providing them with the resources to rebut false claims and to take direct action against offending media institutions.

Now, take a look at Media Matter’s web site and decide for yourself if they, while “documenting conservative misinformation,” are making a written contribution in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.

If you believe they are, perhaps you should email them (phone number 202-756-4100) and politely tell them what you think of their abuse of tax-exempt IRS status. While they are not required to disclose their donors, they are required to make public their tax records. Perhaps you should ask them to send you a copy of their tax returns for the last 3 years so that you can better assess whether they are engaging in prohibited political activity.

By the way, I wonder what misinformation Media Matters was debunking when they recorded Mark Levin’s call into Sean Hannity the other day. Isn’t there a National Organization of Ugly Women?