That Fake Newspaper in Your Mailbox Was Paid For by Peter Thiel [View all]

Source: Daily Beast

PINK SLIME

That Fake Newspaper in Your Mailbox Was Paid For by Peter Thiel

A conservative media network is sending local-looking papers to homes in Arizona and Illinois to push MAGA candidates like Blake Masters.

Kelly Weill
Reporter
Published Oct. 11, 2022 4:50AM ET

It was as if the Grand Canyon Times’ sports section had put a list of local football stars in a blender and printed the results. A brief profile on star running back Bijan Robinson was topped with a picture of tight end Aaron Greene, whose own biography showed a professional headshot of long snapper Ethan Nguyen. Other athletes’ profile pictures and biographical details also appeared randomized in the full-page spread on “former area high school football players.”

The rest of the paper—which was shared online by bemused Arizona sports fans—was chock-full of conservative political content, particularly articles championing Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters.

The Grand Canyon Times isn’t a traditional newspaper. It’s part of an opaque media organization that recycles right-wing news articles across a network of hyperlocal-sounding news websites, which are padded out with press releases. As the 2022 midterm elections approach, conservative campaigns have tapped the network to send realistic-looking (and unsolicited) newspapers to voters in critical districts.

In publications like the Grand Canyon Times, the line between newspaper and political advertisement can be porous. At least two print editions of the paper, reviewed by The Daily Beast, contained disclaimers that described the contents as “paid for by the Saving Arizona PAC.” The PAC, which supports Masters’ Senate campaign, has received more than $13 million from conservative billionaire Peter Thiel.

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Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-peter-thiel-funded-saving-arizona-pac-is-sneakily-targeting-swing-voters