GOP-backed fake news sites target Dems
By Anna Clark, Columbia Journalism Review
DETROIT — Deceptive political ads are one thing. But how about deceptive ads that trade on the credibility of journalism?
That’s what a Republican political group is trying out. This month, the National Republican Congressional Committee debuted at least 20 websites in key congressional districts—from Central Valley, California, to Augusta, Georgia—that are designed, albeit amateurishly, to look like news sites. One of them, “South Michigan Update,” sports the headline “Byrnes Struggles to Escape Her Record,” referring to Democrat Pamela Byrnes in Michigan’s 7th District. Like the other NRCC sites, the featured post attacks the Democratic candidate in the race. The piece has a byline credit to “Geoff,” though, as The Washington Post pointed out, most of “Geoff’s” posts are rewrites of content from the NRCC site. The spare South Michigan site has one other item: a video ad for the 7th District’s Republican incumbent, Tim Walberg, that is featured under the header, “Most Viewed.”
As Lester Graham, an investigative reporter with Michigan Radio, described it in a story that drew attention to South Michigan Update, the casual observer might easily mistake the fake news site for a real one. Because the NRCC is promoting the sites through localized Google search ads, according to the National Journal, readers may well stumble on them unwittingly: It’s the first item that comes up when you search for the Democratic candidates’ name. The NRCC did put a box at the very bottom of the sites indicating that they are paid political ads. But the sites seem designed for social sharing and email-forwarding—exactly the kind of delivery where readers are likely to read only the headline or first few paragraphs of the story. They wouldn’t even see the bottom of the page.
This is where the easily duped and stupid get their ‘facts’-just another extension of foxnooze and hate radio
Thanks to my nutball Republican cousin I’ll probably have the entire list of sites within the week. Along with his expert observation that they are “must reads.”
Thankfully we still have Snopes.com – Kae ought to provide a permanent link to that site.
If the message of modern conservatism is so good and wholesome, why do they feel the need to obfuscate facts so often?
First sign this is a leftist rant is the source of it, Columbia J school articles aren’t full of bias?
This article right off the bat is full of agendas. How many liberal agenda news sites are there? Like Yahoo, AOL, most major newspapers, and broadcast news, all written with a liberal agenda and template without any concern for the truth of the story. This article is funny because liberal news sites have been faking news for years with major leftist actors anchoring the national news like the king of faked news and forgeries Dan Blather who was fired for it. The others weren’t far behind like Tom Brokejaw and, the late Comrade Jennings, Walter Wrong-Kite and the jokers at CNBC and CNN who outdo them all. What this story indicates is that the GOP is trying to play in the same league by making sure their information comes out with search engines ahead of the leftists. The anger of the writer is what is funny and it is the real story.
Justice, I find it revealing that you didn’t even try to refute anything in the article. As per the usual response, there is no substance, there is childish name distortion and a futile attempt to discredit the source. Impotent.
Justice-thanks for confirming my analysis
Hey Justice-apply your ‘criteria for bias’ to your own postings. Thank god we have Rush, Palin, Malkin and the mental giants at Faux Noise to provide the truth about things.
I have no idea about the article’s stated assumptions except to say how many conservatives have been fired for creating fake stories? I can’t think of any. The author’s assumptions, from a liberal college course in J school is telling in that fake liberal news sites tend to be very numerous. She should do an article on Dan Blather’s firing for faking the story he did about Bush on national CBS news. My take is that some GOP sites are being used the same way that leftist’s have and search engines are being used to direct searchers. Nothing new there. Where is the story? This reminds me more of an assignment at best, someone trying to impress their teacher comes to mind.
Justice, I’m dying to hear how you will rationalize the GOP running fake websites for California Democratic candidates earlier in the year that funneled any money donated through the site back to the GOP!
Please people, fake sorties and negative campaigning is nothing new for either party, dirty tricks by both demos and repub have been going on for decades
The key point in the title, “deceptive ads that trade on the credibility of journalism” Which assumes a lot as there are not many these days not aware of a lack of credibility in leftist journalism. The point here should be if your intent is to investigate something that pertains to internet manipulation, don’t use a narrow focus on one party as it will defeat the author’s purpose. An investigation, first has to be unbiased without an obvious agenda and in this case it is paramount, the writer wants a predetermined idea and conclusion from the title onward without an objective look into modern media political campaigns.
@Justice-You sound like CJ trying to convince us that his chosen definition of Fascism is more accurate than ALL THE OFFICIAL DICTIONARIES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE….except you use bigger words. Same baby-rant, though.
… spoken like a true slave-bot… Official dictionaries… You will Think as I tell You to Think SLAVE. ….
Not me. I study history… real history, not the garbage the give you in public school, the real stuff.
How about History? do you deny that the word Fascism comes from the Roman term for the symbol the “Fasces”, the symbol of collectivism and Power.
Freedom requires people to use their own brain. When you let the government establish an “Official” way of thinking you become robots slaves … good luck. (That is Fascism)
Google “Fasces” – prove me wrong.
It is intuitive … which means you have to use your brain.
It is left wing socialism there is no denying that when you know history. Period.
-1 on the trolling
Way too obvious
Cj. YAWN
Spotting a blowhard jerk that owes lots of people in Tahoe $$$- is intuitive
@CJ-I aced Latin in 10th grade(the only year I took it)….I know the etymology of the word Fascism., however, he map(for example-the history of a word root AND its changing meaning through history) is not the territory(current usage and psycho/social connections). I am totally OK with my use of the term ‘official’ dictionaries-by the way their guidelines are not set by ‘governments’. You accuse others as being slaves, yet you more often than not are in goosestep with Faux News and Limbaugh. Your ‘read’ on ‘historic events’ often is used to present opinion as fact, and obfuscation as clarity. Your use of the term intuitive is a prime example -Mirriam Webster defines it-at it’s most basic, as -” having the ability to know or understand things without any proof or evidence”. That’s about right for you. Ignore proof or evidence, believe what you want and call it ‘fact’. As usual, CJ -you are being disingenuous and proving yourself to be a sloppy scholar, a bully and a shmok. And a douche’.
Damn. CJ just got served.