Dark Money Map
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Cite a source

Cite the original filing and include a link to the map and your access date.

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Cite the filing

The filing is the record. When you use a figure, cite the filing it came from:

  • the filer's name as filed, and its filer ID if it has one;
  • the form, such as a campaign statement (Form 460) or a late contribution report (Form 497);
  • the period or date the filing covers;
  • the filing ID, and where it is published, such as CAL-ACCESS.

For a bill position, cite the bill analysis: its title, such as Senate Floor Analysis, its date and California Legislative Information.

Check a figure against the filing shows how to find each of these.

Cite the map

Cite the map as the place you found the record, with the date you looked. A citation can follow this pattern:

Dark Money Map, "[record or chain]", [link], accessed [date].

Note

The map is a snapshot, and figures can change between releases when filings are amended. The accessed date, together with the snapshot date, tells a reader which version you saw.

Describe a figure accurately

  • Say what the figure is: “reported receipts through June 30, 2026”, not “raised”.
  • Say which side a filing states, and don't infer one it doesn't.
  • Don't add figures from different kinds of filing, or a committee's givers to its receipts.
  • Present a chain of connections as separate filings, not as money that moved along it.
  • Mark any estimate as an estimate.

How totals are counted explains why.

Citation generator

Paste a map or article link, choose a format, and copy the citation. Cite the underlying filing alongside it.