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“Creepy ...”

Yes. About your source:

-———————Infiltrated by SPLC———————

Poynter published a list of over 515 news websites that it labeled “unreliable” in 2019. The author of the piece used various fake news databases (including those curated by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, Merrimack College, PolitiFact, and Snopes) to compile the list and called on advertisers to “blacklist” the included sites. The list included conservative news websites such as the Washington Examiner, The Washington Free Beacon, and The Daily Signal as well as conspiracy outfits including InfoWars.[18] After backlash from both readers of and contributors to some of the included publications, Poynter retracted the list, citing “weaknesses in the methodology”.[19] Poynter issued a statement, saying: “[w]e regret that we failed to ensure that the data was rigorous before publication, and apologize for the confusion and agitation caused by its publication.”[20] Reason pointed out that the author was a freelancer hired by the Institute who typically works for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Reason drew parallels between the accuracy of the list with SPLC’s own work on hate groups.[18]

-————Funding from Zuckerberg-————

In January 2020, having received funding from Facebook, the Poynter Institute was able to expand the MediaWise Programme with a national media literacy program called MediaWise Voter project (#MVP) to reach 2 million American first-time voter college students, helping them to be better prepared and informed for the 2020 elections.[21]

———Why?-—————

The Poynter Institute received $737,400 in federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. President Neil Brown noted that this was not the first time the institute received government funding, noting past training contracts with Voice of America.[22]