REPORT: Democratic Operatives Disguise 50 Partisan Websites as ‘Local News’ in Swing States

Democratic operatives have reportedly published more than 50 websites within the past year that appear to be local news sites, but which actually either promote Democratic candidates and agendas or criticize Republican opponents.

“These websites specifically target swing states in hopes of affecting the upcoming midterm elections,” The Blaze stated.

Democratic operatives create more than 50 partisan websites disguised as 'local news,' in an attempt to swing the midterms https://t.co/O3oB7XI9OX

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) October 7, 2022

Democratic operatives disguise partisan websites as local news to influence midterms https://t.co/40JWDYzUwr

— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 7, 2022

Axios reported:

A network of at least 51 locally branded news sites has popped up since last year under names like the Milwaukee Metro Times, the Mecklenburg Herald and the Tri-City Record.

• The sites are focused on key swing states with elections in 2021 and 2022: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
• Each follows a similar template: aggregated local news content and short write-ups about local sports teams and attractions — interspersed with heavily slanted political news aimed at boosting Democratic midterm candidates and attacking Republican opponents.

The intrigue: “About Us” pages for each of the sites say they’re run by a company called Local Report Inc., which was formed in Florida last year.

• Their mastheads indicate involvement by another entity: the American Independent, a Washington-based progressive news outfit.
• Six American Independent writers have each contributed to most or all of the sites in the network, according to an Axios review of bylines on the sites.
• While all of the sites aggregate content from other sources, all six of those authors regularly write stories directly for the Local Report network, with numerous articles appearing exclusively on those sites.

The Blaze noted:

In addition to lionizing Democratic candidates such as Josh Shapiro, who is running for governor in Pennsylvania, these sites promote major Democratic causes, such as abortion and climate change. Since swing state voters do not typically identify Democratic pet projects as the most pressing political issues affecting their lives, Jordan Boyd at the Federalist quipped, “it’s no surprise that [Democrats] feel the need to hide their shady campaigning behind inconspicuous sites.”

And these websites do look “inconspicuous” and often offer many of the same features. Their mastheads claim to feature “local” and national news, sports stories, and some op-eds, and all of their outlet email addresses make some reference to “Local Report.” For example, the email contact for the Valley Gazette, ostensibly out of Arizona, is info@localreportaz.com.

The American Independent (TAI) executive director Jessica McCreight told Axios that “The American Independent has expanded to bring readers local, fact-based news and information on topics and issues that impact their communities,” though she would not confirm TAI’s link to Local Report.

A statement Axios received from Local Report itself expressed similar sentiments:

“Our portfolio includes a number of digital news sites across the country that are focused on sharing local news and providing readers with fact-based coverage of their communities. We are proud to collaborate with partners like the American Independent that are also committed to bringing the public reliable information that they can trust.”

The Blaze added:

Axios claims that there was no name submitted with the statement or given in the Local Report email address.

And though Local Report has been around only for little more than a year, it is by no means the first attempt by Democratic operatives to present partisan commentary as local news. Back in 2019, the Courier Newsroom published fake online newspaper articles to undermine then-President Donald Trump. The Federalist claims that Courier Newsroom has been linked to left-wing financier George Soros.