Turns out “fake news” is real, just not the way Donald Trump thinks it is. The Republican Governors Association—the GOP’s official campaign arm dedicated to electing Republican governors nationwide—is connected to two websites that purport to be independent news sources but are, in reality, propaganda platforms that support GOP candidates.
The first, launched in Virginia as a way to boost Ed Gillespie’s flaccid campaign, is the at-least-mildly-obvious Republican Standard, which describes itself as “a new media journal delivering clear, factual and smartly-balanced information to Virginia’s public square.” The Republican Standard, which is run by GOP operatives tied to Gillespie and “to a firm that has been paid by the RGA,” devotes most of its space to pro-Gillespie items and pieces that shed an unfavorable light on Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam. (When contacted for comment on the site, the Gillespie campaign refused to say anything, instead referring questions to the RGA.) The site’s senior editor is Shaun Kenney, and his Republican Standard bio conveniently fails to mention that he used to be executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia.
The RGA’s broad-spectrum propaganda endeavor is far more insidious. The Free Telegraph is a site that trumpets the supposed accomplishments of Republican governors and gubernatorial candidates and blasts the alleged shortcomings of their Democratic counterparts. An Associated Press inquiry revealed that the RGA sought to conceal its involvement in the creation and administration of the site; it launched in July with no indication that it was the product of an official Republican Party committee. After the AP caught on to them, they “remedied” their lack of accountability. Now, at the very bottom of each page, you can squint and see a teeny tiny “paid for by Republican Governors Association” disclaimer, in fine gray-on-black font for ease of reading, surely.
Don’t let the Republicans get away with hijacking the news. Contribute $3 to help elect Democrat Ralph Northam governor of Virginia.
Still having some trouble seeing it? Well, it’s RIGHT HERE.
Clear as night.
Unsurprisingly, the RGA’s in-house Pravda has media analysts crying foul. One political communications expert says The Free Telegraph commits a sort of “identity theft” by “appropriating the integrity of news,” aping credible news platforms to deliver blatantly partisan messages designed to elect Republican governors. She was particularly troubled by the RGA’s attempt to conceal its involvement in the site: “What we know about audiences is they factor in the source of information when judging that information … If you are denying the reader, the listener or the viewer information you know the reader uses, the question is why do you feel the need to do this?”
Even some Republicans are criticizing this turn to agitprop:
"It's propaganda for sure, even if they have objective standards and all the reporting is 100 percent accurate," said Republican communications veteran Rick Tyler, whose resume includes Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign.
The GOP’s efforts to inject actual propaganda into the media bloodstream is insidious, to be sure, but it’s also an indicator of fear. If Republicans thought their candidates could win on their own merits and their own records, they wouldn’t be stooping to tactics notoriously employed by Russia, the former Soviet Union, and other totalitarian regimes. Republicans fear the truth about their own party so much that they’ve created an official party outlet that seeks to cloak partisan spin in the guise of real news.
Don’t let the Republicans get away with hijacking the news. Contribute $3 to help elect Democrat Ralph Northam governor of Virginia.
