The 2012 election cycle is in full swing. You know what that means… super PACs and political campaigns are spending in full force, but what are they spending so much money on?

ProPublica, an independent non-profit newsroom from New York, has done their part to answer that question by making an interactive chart of where campaign contributions are going.The 2012 election cycle is in full swing. You know what that means… super PACs and political campaigns are spending in full force, but what are they spending so much money on? ProPublica, an independent non-profit newsroom from New York, has done their part to answer that question by making an interactive chart of where campaign contributions are going.

ProPublica created their chart by combining data from the New York Times Campaign Finance API and the Federal Elections Commission. ProPublica’s diagram has campaigns and Super PACs on the left, and payees (destinations for the money) on the right. Click on a campaign or Super PAC and follow the path to see where their funds are going, or click on a payee and follow the path to see who’s paying them. For more information on who or what a Payee is, click on the payee’s name to see a brief summary about them.

ProPublica: A Portal for Donation Transparency and Understanding

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The Reset team goes crazy for data and interactive online tools, especially if they advocate Gov 2.0 innovations. ProPublica’s latest project is definitely a step in the right direction. Voters and organizations can see how their donations are being used and can also see who other supporters are. By providing a portal for government transparency, ProPublica’s Tangled Web campaign finance app holds politicians accountable, makes donations transparent, and keeps people informed.

Check out ProPublica’s PACTrack online portal here and see who’s profiting here. Play around with the interactive infographic. It’s pretty cool.