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The Dark Money Game

Is "The Dark Money Game" a vital exposé on democratic corruption or partisan propaganda that ignores liberal dark money?

Published 2 days ago

review

Above: Screenshot from the official trailer for the 2025 HBO documentary film, "The Dark Money Game." Image credit: The Dark Money Game/HBO

The Spin

Left narrative

"The Dark Money Game" is essential viewing for anyone who cares about democratic integrity. Gibney masterfully connects Citizens United's deregulation of campaign finance to real-world corruption, most vividly in Ohio, where FirstEnergy funneled $60 million to legislators in exchange for a $1 billion bailout. The films expose how an alliance of corporate interests and anti-abortion activists systematically dismantled campaign finance protections. The documentary's true-crime structure makes complex legal history viscerally compelling, and Jane Mayer's involvement ensures rigorous investigative grounding. When billionaires can legally flood elections with untraceable cash, calling it anything other than legalized bribery strains credulity.

Alex Gibney on X Jacobin The Progressive Magazine

Right narrative

"The Dark Money Game" is partisan agitprop dressed as journalism. Gibney ignores that liberal groups — Soros-backed networks, Arabella Advisors, ActBlue — deploy dark money just as aggressively as conservatives. Pro-abortion rights groups outspent opponents 6-to-1 in 2024 state ballot races, yet Gibney frames deregulation as exclusively a right-wing project. The Citizens United case was triggered by government lawyers arguing they could ban books containing political advocacy — a chilling position the documentary conveniently omits. HBO's platform itself represents enormous ideological influence that dwarfs any super PAC. Documentaries implying democracy only fails when conservatives win aren't journalism, they're opposition research with a film score.

People United for Privacy FOX News

Cynical narrative

While campaign-finance corruption is undeniably important, "The Dark Money Game" squanders it in bloated, repetitive installments that feel more like rehash than revelation. Gibney’s films meander through familiar material already covered in books and prior documentaries, offering little new insight or urgency. Sloppy structure, redundant exposition, and uneven pacing make the series feel overextended, with little narrative focus or editorial discipline. The result is informative, but inert, making the whole project feel more recap than exposé.

The Hollywood Reporter