How A Network Of Websites Crafts News With A Partisan Edge. For A Price.

They’re designed to look like local news sites, but their political content is written on behalf of paying clients.

By Shelly BrisbinOctober 22, 2020 1:50 pm,

The vacuum left in many communities by the death of local newspapers hasn’t remained empty. Instead, networks of websites with local-sounding names are paying writers to craft stories that favor specific political candidates and messages. According to a New York Times investigation, the largest of these networks, whose focus is conservative politics, has a major Texas connection. 

Tech expert Omar Gallaga told Texas Standard that these fake sites have names like The Des Moines Sun or Empire State Today. They’re run by a company called Media Metric that began operations in 2015 to serve political clients. 

“They are full of misinformation [and] bias. They’re full of pay-to-play articles,” Gallaga said. 

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– How fake news sites benefit political candidates and causes

– What makes these sites different from other news operations with partisan leanings

– How readers can find out if the site they’re reading is legit

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