Thread by @mirandacgreen

Where did Trump voters get their news? 📰

Yes, there's social and partisan sites, but there is another influential strategy that isn't getting enough attention: Manipulated, pay-to-play and all out fake news sites

I've been covering a mix of those for years. Here's a primer

🧵

Let's start: What did residents in key counties in Arizona, North Dakota and Nevada all have in common on Oct 15?

They received a print paper with the same front page and headline

The papers were all postmarked w/ the same Chicago address, for Metric Media, a pink-slime news operation that runs more than 1,100 websites. @TowCenter

cjr.org/tow_center_rep…

Metric is in a network of news sites that re-print one another, echo each other's talking points and lift up the voices of right-leaning think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and SBA Pro-Life

Reporting has also found it's a pay-to-play operation

nytimes.com/2020/10/18/tec…

The papers are not news. They are largely written by algorithms, don't have bylines and only cover one side--the right leaning side-- of the topics they cover.

It's misinformation, full stop.

What's key here is that its owner Brian Timpone is exploiting a crack in the news ecosystem.

As local news is diminishing and trust in mainstream national news has decreased, local readers still want news, they just don't know where to get it.

That's where pink slime steps in

Metric has been strategic this year. While it's mostly online, it's one-off print papers have shown up ahead of key races. Inside the content changes to specifically conform to issues facing those communities.

Oil pipelines in ND
Inflation in AZ
LGBTQ issues in WI

The Tucson Standard, sent to Arizona homes Oct 30, nearly entirely vilified trans-rights and sex changes

What these print papers do, that the online sites can't, is get directly in front of voters.

While, lots of folk says they throw them away, others share them as fact

https://x.com/TrumpBender_3/status/1850235950531858941

Metric has also gotten into the business of buying real newspapers.

In Ohio, it purchased the Mount Vernon News, whose coverage this year has largely focused on the negatives of a proposed solar farm nearby. w/ @jsmithrichards

propublica.org/article/ohio-m…

The network also touches on culture war issues like same sex marriage, and the right to protest

propublica.org/article/church…

floodlightnews.org/weird-newspape…

What's interesting about these networks of news, are many trace back to the oil and gas industry and power players.

Experts say the reason is because many conservative donors made their money this way-- and they see mainstream coverage of climate as a threat.

"It's because the legitimate journalism is turned against them. And I would say the vast majority of professional journalists, both print and and broadcast that is not ideologically twisted, believe that climate change is real," says Anne Nelson.

"So they have had to create their own, right, where they control the so called facts. And the real shame is how effectively theyve been able to make it masquerade as legitimate journalism" -@anelsona who wrote Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right

In fact, Timothy Dunn, the billionaire CEO of a leading Texas oil and gas company, has held a managerial role in the Metric network. 🛢️

But fossil fuel companies and utilities are using a similar playbook. 🔖

In Florida, two power companies paid a consulting firm to hire newspapers to attack a pro-solar politician.

npr.org/2022/12/19/114…

In Alabama, the state’s largest monopoly electric company purchased a historic Black newspaper, then didn’t write about soaring power bills.

theguardian.com/environment/20…

In California, Chevron launched its own newsroom when other papers shuttered; it doesn’t cover itself critically.

npr.org/2024/03/28/123…

In Texas, a formerly Black-owned, progressive newspaper has re-emerged as a "pink slime" media site that launders conservative propaganda. @stevanzetti

texasobserver.org/the-dallas-exp…

Why does this matter?

As the public and media look inward to determine how best to get facts to Americans, it's important to look at how the other side is doing it.

These "papers" show there's still a belief that news has power, it just depends on who is disseminating it.

And if you happen to get one of these papers, please share a photo! Email: Mirandaclairegreen (at) gmail.com

For those who want to share on thr**ds: threads.net/@randi_green/p…

@bananamoat Pay to play, is a different operation all together.

It can be very impactful, especially in small communities, and state-wide races-- as I reported w/ @davidfolkenflik about @Fla_Pol

npr.org/2023/10/06/120…