RALEIGH — A recent report by Axios has identified a network of 51 websites masquerading as local news sites that trace back to a Democrat-tied group. Three of the 51 are operating in North Carolina.
These types of outlets are similar to the hyper-partisan sites masquerading as journalism housed under Courier Newsroom, which set up in 14 states in 2020 with funding by ACRONYM, a dark money political action committee. The sites are still active, including one in North Carolina called Cardinal & Pine. The site is run by Billy Ball, a former reporter for the left-leaning N.C. Justice Center’s blog called NC Policy Watch.
According to Axios, the sites are “churning out Democrat-aligned content” in key midterm battleground states.
The sites trace back to The American Independent (TAI) started by Democratic operative David Brock, a long-time ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton and founder of the left-leaning organization Media Matters for America.
TAI’s president is Matt Fuehrmeyer, a former senior aide to Nevada’s late Democratic Sen. and former Senate leader Harry Reid as well as being a researcher for former Senator Al Franken (D-MN). Fuehmeyer was also a top aide with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“The American Independent is the No. 1 digital platform for progressive news, reaching millions of people each month. We strive to report with honesty and integrity, shining a light on those in power and the progressive politics movement,” the TAI LinkedIn profile reads.
The profile says TAI has 19 employees from states that include Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and even one located in Munich, Germany.
TAI’s named was changed in 2019 from the American Independent Foundation (AIF). Before being renamed to AIF, the group was called Blue Nation Review before changing its name in 2016 to Shareblue and then again changing the name to The American Independent.
The organization is a 501(c)3 located in Washington, D.C. whose 2020 total revenue was over $2.1 million. AIF has received large donations in the past few years from Brock’s Media Matters. For the fiscal year ending June 2020, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund dropped $3,287,295 in funding to Media Matters “for grant recipients program purposes” and another $70,000 to AIF for the same reason.
According to the “terms” listed on TAI’s website, they are “operated by True Blue Media, LLC (“True Blue Media”).” Brock founded True Blue Media in 2015 and is actually a group of organizations that include Brock’s other properties used to attack Republicans such as Media Matters for America and American Bridge 21st Century.
Each of the sites contact details refer to “Local Report Inc.,” which the Axios report notes was formed in Florida in 2021. An extended version of Axios’ report says Local Report has been accused of lifting and misrepresenting content from real news outlets in order to put Democrats in a positive light.
“On Sept. 28, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer’s Nick Wooten accused a Local Report website of lifting some of his reporting on Georgia’s abortion ban for a piece. The Local Report story insinuated Gov. Brian Kemp could order investigations into violations of the law,” Axios reported. Before the day was over, the write-up had earned a signal boost from Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia. (Abrams later deleted her tweet and posted a link to Wooten’s original story.)”
The three sites in North Carolina run by TAI and “Local Report Inc.” are the Mecklenburg Herald, Piedmont Tribune, and Triangle News. While they are separate websites, they appear to run identical content.
Most, if not all, articles are posted by “staff” or “editorial staff,” but some have sub-bylines such as “Mohamed Bughara,” who apparently resides in Washington State. LinkedIn lists him as a “Digital Writer” for “The American Independent.”
The most recent post under Bughara’s byline is on Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s new book and claims Robinson wants to do away with social studies in elementary schools. Robinson rebutted the claim in an interview with North State Journal last month, saying the main focus in elementary grades should be on reading, writing and math.
Another article published on Sept. 15 touts a rosy headline about gas prices, “Out of the 100 Counties in North Carolina, Only 4 Counties are Above the National Average in Gas Prices.” The national average at the time was $3.70. While that’s less than the record national average of $4.86 per gallon set in early June of this year, it’s a far cry from the national average cost of s $2.39 when Biden took office on Jan. 20, 2021.
In addition to Bughara, opinion writers Sheldon Clay and J. Patrick Coolican featured in TAI’s North Carolina websites are from Minnesota. Clay is “a long time member of the Minneapolis/St. Paul advertising community and a regular contributor to the Minnesota Reformer,” while Coolican is “the editor-in-chief of the Minnesota Reformer.”
Another writer appears to be an actor from New York City named Parker Wallis. The Facebook profile for Wallis describes them as “Non-binary // They/She/Fae // Performimg [SIC] artist-writer // Digital Content Writer for AIF.” Wallis also has a professional website for their acting.
An Oct. 3 article posted to all three of the North Carolina websites titled “grading North Carolina’s democracy” written by Wallis offers a prime example of political propaganda being presented as a news report.
“The report is a collaboration between the Let America Vote Action Fund and the End Citizens United (ECU) Action Fund, and it grades each of the fifty states based on three categories: Voting Rights Laws, Campaign Finance and Anti-Corruption Laws, and Democracy Subversion Protections,” reads one of the opening paragraphs.
Wallis does not link to the report, which resides on the End Citizens United website, nor does Wallis delve into who the two groups are or that the groups are partners.
“Let America Vote Action Fund” is a partner of End Citizens United Action Fund. Both are PACs that spend exclusively on Democrats. Filing information available on the campaign watchdog site Open Secrets shows End Citizen’s United received 18 payments totaling $5,170,000 from Let America Vote in 2020.
Wallis’ article highlights the grades given to Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein, who both are Democrats. The article says Cooper vetoed a bill that would have “limited absentee voting” and “curtailed power” for the state board of elections. Both of those statements are lines lifted from the report.
Additionally, Wallis does not list the vetoed legislation being referred to; however, Cooper has not vetoed a bill that limited absentee ballot voting, in fact, it was the opposite. The governor issued his 66th veto on Senate Bill 326 which would have extended the Election Day deadline for absentee by-mail ballots.
The “curtailing of power” reference is likely Senate Bill 360 which sought to bar the N.C. State Board of Elections and Attorney General from entering into collusive agreements. Senate Bill 360 was a response to a secret settlement entered into by the N.C. State Board of Elections, the Attorney General, and Democratic-aligned activist groups that effectively rewrote state election laws while absentee voting was underway, just 41 days before the 2020 election. The bill would have applied only to future lawsuits.
