'Look at how the other side is doing it': Expert ties election to this facet of the right

According to investigations director Miranda Green at Floodlights News, if there's one thing that the right does exceptionally well, it's disseminating misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda.

The Metric network of a "pink-slime news operation" delivered far-right-framed information while lifting up "the voices of right-leaning think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and SBA Pro-Life," she said.

The New York Times reported that it's also a "pay to play" operation.

Also read: How right-wing media turned racism into a machine that generates billions a year

"What did residents in key counties in Arizona, North Dakota and Nevada all have in common on Oct 15?" she asked, showing photos of the papers. "They received a print paper with the same front page and headline."

It had photos of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden claiming inflation cost each family $33,823. It didn't matter what state, they simply printed a different state name for each headline.

"They are largely written by algorithms, don't have bylines and only cover one side," wrote Green, noting that side is the right."It's misinformation, full stop."

The owner, Brian Timpone is "exploiting a crack in the news ecosystem," she said. With local news sites falling around the country, local people still want information, and Green said, "Pink slime steps in to fill the void."

"Metric has been strategic this year. While it's mostly online, its one-off print papers have shown up ahead of key races. Inside the content changes to specifically conform to issues facing those communities. Oil pipelines in ND, Inflation in AZ, LGBTQ issues in WI," she wrote. That includes dialing up the anti-transgender hysteria.

A lot of it can be traced back to the oil and gas industry because mainstream news reports on scientific information that highlights the impacts of climate change.

The week before the election, The Tucson Standard, for example, sent Arizona homes a paper filled with attacks on sex changes.

Green said they're putting the issue directly in front of voters' eyes. Meanwhile, Metric is buying up local papers as they go up for sale.

"It's because the legitimate journalism is turned against them. And I would say the vast majority of professional journalists, both print and broadcast that is not ideologically twisted, believe that climate change is real," said Anne Nelson, the author of "Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right."

Green listed large oil companies that used the Mectric network to spread information, while Chevron launched a contrasting newsroom. A power company in Alabama bought up a newspaper with a primarily Black readership, jacked up electric bills and then never covered it as a news story.

"As the public and media look inward to determine how best to get facts to Americans, it's important to look at how the other side is doing it," said Green. "These 'papers' show there's still a belief that news has power, it just depends on who is disseminating it."

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