Literally today had a guy on here say to me that Jan 6th was a bunch of boomers waving flags. Its really sad
PhotonArmy on
Just like Russia…
a_pope_on_a_rope on
A reality TV producer knows how to make a story line pop
picado on
That headline buries the key fact – the right wing has gone full fascist and is systematically lying to Americans.
TintedApostle on
and CNN is more than happy to do nothing about it.
VanceKelley on
10 years ago this story might have been a revelation.
Now my reaction is just “Thanks Captain Obvious!”
Rated_PG-Squirteen on
Could you imagine if the vast majority of San Francisco 49ers fans truly believed that they won the Super Bowl back in February? And that they always got in your face to scream at you that the “Niners are 2024 SB Champs, baby!!!” And most of them always wore hats claiming that they were the rightful victors.
Our politics are kinda like that, and it’s becoming more and more difficult by the day for me to deal with the fact that our country has become this way.
Some? I think they author meant to say republicans
mishma2005 on
I’m watching this now and MAGA is straight insane brats that never intellectually made it past “no, u”
Arrmadillo on
The rise of digital media and the decline of traditional journalistic outlets have made underserved rural areas especially vulnerable to misinformation from “pink slime” operations masquerading as local news sites.
“Maine Business Daily is part of a fast-growing network of nearly 1,300 websites that aim to fill a void left by vanishing local newspapers across the country. Yet the network, now in all 50 states, is built not on traditional journalism but on propaganda ordered up by dozens of conservative think tanks, political operatives, corporate executives and public-relations professionals, a Times investigation found.”
“Mr. Timpone’s sites get tens of thousands of shares on social media. That is a modest reach in the national conversation. But with the focus on small towns, less readership is needed to make an impact. In some of those towns, Mr. Timpone’s outlets also publish newspapers and deliver them, unsolicited, to doorsteps.”
“Recently uncovered documents show that in 2020, [West Texas fracking billionaire Tim Dunn] was named a managing director of Pipeline Media, part of a network of companies that manage thousands of local news sites across the country. Most publicly associated with the company Metric Media and conservative businessman Brian Timpone, Pipeline has received funding from multiple right-wing dark-money groups and PACs whose policy positions and candidates it promotes.”
“Examples of websites in this right-wing ‘pink slime’ network include austinjournal.com, amarillogazette.com, dallascitywire.com, and houstondaily.com. There are at least 77 websites identified with this network in Texas alone that launder advocacy for conservative groups and talking points such as property tax relief, attacks on alternative energy sources, and fearmongering about the border.’”
By funding this ‘pink slime’ network, Dunn and other mega-donors have gotten access to their own version of the fourth estate, which in turn has been used to promote the agenda of political groups they fund.”
“Internal correspondence received by the Times found that ‘assignments typically come with precise instructions on whom to interview and what to write. . . . In some cases, those instructions are written by the network’s clients, who are sometimes the subjects of the articles.’”
“Over 90 percent of their stories are algorithmically generated using publicly available data sets or by repurposing stories from legitimate sources. In the remaining stories that have an authentic byline, there is often a conservative bent. As reported by the Lansing State Journal and The Guardian, this includes articles about voter fraud using data from the Heritage Foundation, negative pieces about elected Democratic representatives, and stories supporting conservative candidates. This low-cost automated story generation has come to be known as pink slime journalism.”
“The phenomenon of ‘pink slime’ journalism as a subset of partisan local news sits at the juncture of multiple crises in local journalism — how we fund journalism, what constitutes ‘journalism’ and who gets to produce and define it, and how journalism garners trust from publics with conflicting understandings and ideals regarding ‘objectivity,’ transparency, and other ethical cornerstones. Drawing on a range of original Tow Center studies covering the gamut of production, content, and audience reception, this report outlines what is at stake — and why anyone who cares about local journalism should consider the significance of these partisan outlets.
Our report distinguishes pink slime journalism from partisan journalism more broadly. We use this label to apply to digital or print content that mimics the appearance of local news, but whose primary original contribution is partisan content or reputation laundering that lacks transparency around intent, authorship, ownership, and funding — and that often relies on algorithmically generated content. There is often a strong element of astroturf activity, where the reporters are based outside the geographies they write about and their assignments are centralized.”
“The Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University’s School of Journalism is hosting a one day conference to discuss the implications of our upcoming report “Pink Slime: Partisan Journalism and the Future of Local News” – detailing the extensive, secretive connections between political donors, advocacy groups, and ultra-partisan local news websites in the United States.
This conference will bring together academics, journalists, and policymakers to discuss the future of local news and the relationship between journalism and electoral politics ahead of the
2024 US presidential election and how these hyper partisan sites may impact not only this year’s elections but election reporting well into the future.”
BarelyContainedChaos on
There’s shows that exist entirely to show how absurd the right is being. The Daily show and Colbert, show every night the dumb shit fox says and still, people believe. I dont get it, I just dont get it
tabrizzi on
When you believe in “alternative facts”, it’s only natural that you’ll eventually find yourself in a alternative universe.
Whydoesthisexist15 on
I want some sort of monument condemning all the people responsible for this. Ailes, Murdoch, Shit Blossom, W, Reagan, Barr, Conway, Trump, you name it
YakiVegas on
This is disinformation, not misinformation. Decades worth coming from conservative media like AM radio and FOX that’s now being helped by foreign propaganda outlets.
PBPunch on
Nah. They always lived in it. This just gave them a feeling of legitimacy.
bobsmeds on
Yeah no shit. Half the country’s succumbed to the most powerful, pernicious propaganda machine ever created and the majority of news outlets keep framing things as ‘both sides’
Shaman7102 on
Sadly, CNN is part of the problem…..they used to be decent. What’s worse, is how easily their “true” journalists gave up their integrity when their new maga boss came in.
PotentialLandscape52 on
I hate with every fiber of my being the term “Misinformation.” What was wrong with words and phrases like “lies”, “willfully misleading”, or “complete and utter bullshit”?
Misinformation implies that the politicians, their donors, and their cronies in the media spreading this horse manure don’t know any better and aren’t actively deceiving the public for their own financial gain
dcoolidge on
Religion does that to people
yesyesyes123123 on
I was at a wedding this weekend and it’s sad how much this bullshit has brainwashed people. You can’t even have a conversation about it. Literally had a guy tell me that the immigration crisis is orchestrated by the dems to flush people into the country so they they can vote for Biden in the election. It’s illegal for a non citizen to vote dude lol
Pleasestoplyiiing on
No shit.
IdyllicExhales on
Gaslighting is at an all time high. People don’t even give you enough time to pause and get to know yourself to see what you really believe in. A lot of pushiness, love bombing, and rushed behavior leads to not getting all the facts straight in the first place
SteakJones on
Right wing crazy shit politics completely poisoned my brother-in-law and cost him his marriage, job, friends, family, etc.
It’s unreal how the fever pitch of hatred and outrage on Fox, Newsmax, and countless websites/social media groups have upended his life since 2016.
EpicLearn on
…for Republicans.
RavishingRickiRude on
Yeah. Around 73 million of them
youtellmebob on
Racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia and misogyny trump decency and common sense.
I’ve never seen a reasonable answer as to why, but these people hate Biden, Pelosi, Newsome, AOC, etc, with the passion of a thousand suns. If you ask them, “what has Biden done to merit such hatred?” you won’t get an answer outside of something like “Hunter’s laptop”.
I’ve come to believe their hatred is the result of some very warped, reverse, moral calculus, that goes something like this: “Donald Trump is on the surface a complete scumbag of a human being. But I voted for him, therefore Joe Biden must be a thousand times worse.“
It is another version of the self-justification/circular logic we heard after J6: GOP – “A big hunk of Americans believe our lies that the election was stolen, so there must be validity to it”.
27 Comments
Literally today had a guy on here say to me that Jan 6th was a bunch of boomers waving flags. Its really sad
Just like Russia…
A reality TV producer knows how to make a story line pop
That headline buries the key fact – the right wing has gone full fascist and is systematically lying to Americans.
and CNN is more than happy to do nothing about it.
10 years ago this story might have been a revelation.
Now my reaction is just “Thanks Captain Obvious!”
Could you imagine if the vast majority of San Francisco 49ers fans truly believed that they won the Super Bowl back in February? And that they always got in your face to scream at you that the “Niners are 2024 SB Champs, baby!!!” And most of them always wore hats claiming that they were the rightful victors.
Our politics are kinda like that, and it’s becoming more and more difficult by the day for me to deal with the fact that our country has become this way.
Interesting article, and props to the guy for being able to talk with the misinformed folks instead of argue with them. But I’d rather be entertained by interviews with Jordan Klepper or [Triumph the Insult Comic Dog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtRalpP-mjs&ab_channel=TriumphTheInsultComicDogHQ)
Some? I think they author meant to say republicans
I’m watching this now and MAGA is straight insane brats that never intellectually made it past “no, u”
The rise of digital media and the decline of traditional journalistic outlets have made underserved rural areas especially vulnerable to misinformation from “pink slime” operations masquerading as local news sites.
NYT – [As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/technology/timpone-local-news-metric-media.html)
“Maine Business Daily is part of a fast-growing network of nearly 1,300 websites that aim to fill a void left by vanishing local newspapers across the country. Yet the network, now in all 50 states, is built not on traditional journalism but on propaganda ordered up by dozens of conservative think tanks, political operatives, corporate executives and public-relations professionals, a Times investigation found.”
Chicago Tribune – [Conservative Illinois publications blur lines between journalism, politics](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-illinois-conservative-news-20180327-story.html)
“Mr. Timpone’s sites get tens of thousands of shares on social media. That is a modest reach in the national conversation. But with the focus on small towns, less readership is needed to make an impact. In some of those towns, Mr. Timpone’s outlets also publish newspapers and deliver them, unsolicited, to doorsteps.”
Texas Observer – [Whodunnit?: West Texas Billionaire Funds ‘Pink Slime’ Journalism](https://www.texasobserver.org/whodunnit-west-texas-billionaire-funds-pink-slime-journalism/)
“Recently uncovered documents show that in 2020, [West Texas fracking billionaire Tim Dunn] was named a managing director of Pipeline Media, part of a network of companies that manage thousands of local news sites across the country. Most publicly associated with the company Metric Media and conservative businessman Brian Timpone, Pipeline has received funding from multiple right-wing dark-money groups and PACs whose policy positions and candidates it promotes.”
“Examples of websites in this right-wing ‘pink slime’ network include austinjournal.com, amarillogazette.com, dallascitywire.com, and houstondaily.com. There are at least 77 websites identified with this network in Texas alone that launder advocacy for conservative groups and talking points such as property tax relief, attacks on alternative energy sources, and fearmongering about the border.’”
By funding this ‘pink slime’ network, Dunn and other mega-donors have gotten access to their own version of the fourth estate, which in turn has been used to promote the agenda of political groups they fund.”
D Magazine – [Local News Is Under Assault by a Pay-to-Play Media Model](https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2020/10/local-news-is-under-assault-by-a-pay-to-play-media-model/)
“Internal correspondence received by the Times found that ‘assignments typically come with precise instructions on whom to interview and what to write. . . . In some cases, those instructions are written by the network’s clients, who are sometimes the subjects of the articles.’”
Columbia Journalism Review – [As election looms, a network of mysterious ‘pink slime’ local news outlets nearly triples in size](https://www.cjr.org/analysis/as-election-looms-a-network-of-mysterious-pink-slime-local-news-outlets-nearly-triples-in-size.php)
“Over 90 percent of their stories are algorithmically generated using publicly available data sets or by repurposing stories from legitimate sources. In the remaining stories that have an authentic byline, there is often a conservative bent. As reported by the Lansing State Journal and The Guardian, this includes articles about voter fraud using data from the Heritage Foundation, negative pieces about elected Democratic representatives, and stories supporting conservative candidates. This low-cost automated story generation has come to be known as pink slime journalism.”
Columbia Journalism School – [“Pink Slime”: Partisan journalism and the future of local news](https://towcenter.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/%E2%80%9CPink%2520Slime%E2%80%9D_%2520Partisan%2520journalism%2520and%2520the%2520future%2520of%2520local%2520news%2520%25281%2529.pdf) (Report)
“The phenomenon of ‘pink slime’ journalism as a subset of partisan local news sits at the juncture of multiple crises in local journalism — how we fund journalism, what constitutes ‘journalism’ and who gets to produce and define it, and how journalism garners trust from publics with conflicting understandings and ideals regarding ‘objectivity,’ transparency, and other ethical cornerstones. Drawing on a range of original Tow Center studies covering the gamut of production, content, and audience reception, this report outlines what is at stake — and why anyone who cares about local journalism should consider the significance of these partisan outlets.
Our report distinguishes pink slime journalism from partisan journalism more broadly. We use this label to apply to digital or print content that mimics the appearance of local news, but whose primary original contribution is partisan content or reputation laundering that lacks transparency around intent, authorship, ownership, and funding — and that often relies on algorithmically generated content. There is often a strong element of astroturf activity, where the reporters are based outside the geographies they write about and their assignments are centralized.”
Columbia Journalism School – [Tow Center for Digital Journalism – Dark Money, Local News, and the 2024 Election](https://www.youtube.com/live/86vG6xWmEto?si=wZ5-1nmTunEUsd3z) (Conference Discussion)
“The Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University’s School of Journalism is hosting a one day conference to discuss the implications of our upcoming report “Pink Slime: Partisan Journalism and the Future of Local News” – detailing the extensive, secretive connections between political donors, advocacy groups, and ultra-partisan local news websites in the United States.
This conference will bring together academics, journalists, and policymakers to discuss the future of local news and the relationship between journalism and electoral politics ahead of the
2024 US presidential election and how these hyper partisan sites may impact not only this year’s elections but election reporting well into the future.”
There’s shows that exist entirely to show how absurd the right is being. The Daily show and Colbert, show every night the dumb shit fox says and still, people believe. I dont get it, I just dont get it
When you believe in “alternative facts”, it’s only natural that you’ll eventually find yourself in a alternative universe.
I want some sort of monument condemning all the people responsible for this. Ailes, Murdoch, Shit Blossom, W, Reagan, Barr, Conway, Trump, you name it
This is disinformation, not misinformation. Decades worth coming from conservative media like AM radio and FOX that’s now being helped by foreign propaganda outlets.
Nah. They always lived in it. This just gave them a feeling of legitimacy.
Yeah no shit. Half the country’s succumbed to the most powerful, pernicious propaganda machine ever created and the majority of news outlets keep framing things as ‘both sides’
Sadly, CNN is part of the problem…..they used to be decent. What’s worse, is how easily their “true” journalists gave up their integrity when their new maga boss came in.
I hate with every fiber of my being the term “Misinformation.” What was wrong with words and phrases like “lies”, “willfully misleading”, or “complete and utter bullshit”?
Misinformation implies that the politicians, their donors, and their cronies in the media spreading this horse manure don’t know any better and aren’t actively deceiving the public for their own financial gain
Religion does that to people
I was at a wedding this weekend and it’s sad how much this bullshit has brainwashed people. You can’t even have a conversation about it. Literally had a guy tell me that the immigration crisis is orchestrated by the dems to flush people into the country so they they can vote for Biden in the election. It’s illegal for a non citizen to vote dude lol
No shit.
Gaslighting is at an all time high. People don’t even give you enough time to pause and get to know yourself to see what you really believe in. A lot of pushiness, love bombing, and rushed behavior leads to not getting all the facts straight in the first place
Right wing crazy shit politics completely poisoned my brother-in-law and cost him his marriage, job, friends, family, etc.
It’s unreal how the fever pitch of hatred and outrage on Fox, Newsmax, and countless websites/social media groups have upended his life since 2016.
…for Republicans.
Yeah. Around 73 million of them
Racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia and misogyny trump decency and common sense.
I’ve never seen a reasonable answer as to why, but these people hate Biden, Pelosi, Newsome, AOC, etc, with the passion of a thousand suns. If you ask them, “what has Biden done to merit such hatred?” you won’t get an answer outside of something like “Hunter’s laptop”.
I’ve come to believe their hatred is the result of some very warped, reverse, moral calculus, that goes something like this: “Donald Trump is on the surface a complete scumbag of a human being. But I voted for him, therefore Joe Biden must be a thousand times worse.“
It is another version of the self-justification/circular logic we heard after J6: GOP – “A big hunk of Americans believe our lies that the election was stolen, so there must be validity to it”.