GOP now creating actual dedicated fake news sites to intentionally spread misinformation. [View all]

[DetlefK]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/3/12/1841475/-Republicans-no-longer-need-Russia-to-create-fake-pop-up-news-sites-they-re-doing-it-for-themselves

A Republican media group is creating a swath of propaganda sites—sites that purport to be outlets for local media, but which actually push content created by big Republican donors. They’re using everything learned by decades of AM radio and Fox News to present these sites as “fair and balanced,” leaning into the trust that people award local sources, and taking a big lesson from Russia—if people read something on what appears to be a news site, they often don’t check to see if that site is anything more than a front.

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Now they’re coming again, but not from Russia. An investigation conducted by Snopes has uncovered a trio of hard-right Republican activists—Michael Patrick Leahy, Steve Gill, and Christina Botteri—who are working with a conservative PAC to create authentic-looking “local news” sites that are packed with false stories sourced straight from lobbyists and interest groups. And it’s no surprise that their latest additions are The Ohio Star and The Minnesota Sun.

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Star News has been a long way from perfect to this point in pretending to be what they’re not. For example, The “local” Minnesota site has featured everything from the wrong weather, to the wrong candidate for governor as the GOP group tries to perfect their faux-Minnesotan accent. But they’re getting better. And, like Sinclair Media, they’re spreading.

It’s not as if they have to be concerned about accuracy. In an article on a debate between Tennessee gubernatorial candidates, the “local” Star News site didn’t stop with just naming the Democratic candidate as a communist. They mingled real questions and responses from the debate with fake questions and fake responses that never happened. It’s that sort of mixing reality with propaganda at every level — from completely fake stories, to stories that include a few fake quotes — that make these sites particularly dangerous.

https://www.snopes.com/news/2019/03/04/activists-setup-local-news-sites/#_ga=2.131229580.260106883.1551797726-1088718101.1535999858