‘Pink Slime’: Partisan journalism and the future of local news

As we hurtle towards 2024 elections, interest in pink slime journalism and the continued growth of partisan local outlets with deep, often opaque, ties to dark money, advocacy groups and other special interests has only grown.

Pink-slime journalism

Pink-slime journalism is a practice in which news outlets, or fake partisan operations masquerading as such, publish (often but not always) lower-quality news reports that appear to be independent local news outlets.[1] The use of these websites to gather user data has also been observed.[2][3][4] The reports are either computer-generated or written by poorly-paid outsourced writers, sometimes using pen names.[3][5][6]

As election looms, a network of mysterious ‘pink slime’ local news outlets nearly triples in size

Editor’s Note: This is the second of our four pieces on this network. In December 2019, we first established the scope of the “pink slime” network distributing algorithmic stories and conservative talking points. In October 2021, we found that the network had received funding from multiple dark money groups as well as collaborated with advocacy […]

Hundreds of ‘pink slime’ local news outlets are distributing algorithmic stories and conservative talking points

<p>Editor’s Note: This is the first of our four pieces on this network. In August 2020, we found that the size of the network had nearly tripled to over 1200 sites. In October 2021, we found that the network had received funding from multiple dark money groups as well as collaborated with advocacy groups on topics to […]</p>

Just in time for the midterms: New Entry Joins "Pink Slime" Pseudo-News Sweepstakes

Dark Money Political Ads Proliferate on Facebook and Instagram

“Pink slime” newsrooms secretly backed by partisan donors are spending big on Facebook and Instagram ads in battleground states.

Newspapers with a partisan aim filling the void of traditional media

As independent local papers collapse, a new industry is being fueled by ideological donors seeking to further political agendas.

‘Pink Slime’ Is Infecting AI Chatbots Ahead of the Midterms

Partisan websites disguised as independent, local news outlets are shaping chatbots’ responses about key races.

In Texas, AI-generated political ads are blurring the line between real and fake - Poynter

Experts say increasingly realistic campaign ads could make it harder for voters to distinguish authentic messages from fabricated ones

Forget the FBI cache; the Podesta emails show how America is run | Thomas Frank

WikiLeaks’ dump of messages to and from Clinton’s campaign chief offer an unprecedented view into the workings of the elite, and how it looks after itself

Local U.S. TV News Will Soon Be Entirely Right Wing Propaganda

Thanks to the destruction of media consolidation limits, Republicans will soon enjoy propaganda and market domination over what's left of local U.S. news.

Less red tape, more pesticides? Bee careful what you ‘simplify’

Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism

White House Health Report Included Fake Citations (Published 2025)

A report on children’s health released by the Make America Healthy Again Commission referred to scientific papers that did not exist.

The LA Times’ AI ‘bias meter’ looks like a bid to please Donald Trump | Margaret Sullivan

The paper’s billionaire owner, who barred it from endorsing Kamala Harris, is leaving human journalists out of the equation

‘Dark money’ networks hide political agendas behind fake news sites

Political operations are pouring millions of “dark money” dollars into ads masquerading as news to influence the 2020 election. Fake News abounds.