Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

The Cooldown

U.S. center-left, climate advocacy

Owned byPalmetto, a private clean-energy company; previously independently owned by founders Dave Finocchio and Anna Robertson
FundingCorporate parent (Palmetto); originally venture-backed with $5.7 million in seed funding from investors including Upfront Ventures, UpWest, Powerhouse Ventures, and Amasia; revenue also comes from advertising and affiliate commerce
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Cool Down was launched in 2022 by Dave Finocchio, co-founder and former CEO of the sports media site Bleacher Report, and Anna Robertson, a former executive at ABC and Yahoo News. The founders raised $5.7 million in seed funding to build what they described as 'America's first mainstream climate brand,' aiming to make climate content accessible and culturally relevant rather than doom-focused. The outlet grew quickly and claimed to reach roughly one in eight Americans monthly through its website, newsletter, and social media channels. Its business model blends advertising, affiliate product recommendations, and branded content. In October 2025, Palmetto — a private company that sells solar panels and home energy services — acquired The Cool Down, framing the deal as a way to connect consumers interested in sustainable living with clean-energy products. Critics, including the International Bottled Water Association, have pointed to the outlet's heavy use of affiliate commerce and its ties to industry players as potential conflicts of interest that blur the line between journalism and marketing. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the outlet Left-Center in bias and Mostly Factual in accuracy. Because its core mission is to promote climate action and clean-energy adoption, its coverage consistently frames Trump administration environmental rollbacks — such as loosening restrictions on climate-warming refrigerants — as harmful to consumers and the planet.

Sources

  1. Online media vets launch The Cool Down – GeekWire
  2. Palmetto Acquires The Cool Down
  3. Scoop: Palmetto Is Buying 'The Cool Down' – Heatmap News
  4. The Cool Down – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  5. The Cool Down's Marketing-Driven Journalism – Bottled Water Facts
  6. The Cool Down – Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding
  7. Trump administration removes restrictions on substance banned or restricted by 190 countries – The Cool Down

Profile compiled 2026-07-23; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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