www.inquirer.com Open in urlscan Pro
2a02:26f0:780::210:ca4a  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

https://www.inquirer.com/subscribe_today/

<form class="flex justify-center items-center w-full sm:w-auto
        " action="https://www.inquirer.com/subscribe_today/"><button aria-label="Subscribe" class="inq-button-ds cursor-pointer font-grot10 !normal-case !text-md !leading-5 min-h-[40px] px-6 py-2.5 !font-medium 
    text-white inline-flex 
    justify-center items-center text-center 
    not-italic rounded 
    box-border focus:ring-4 
    transition-all duration-300 ease-out inq-button-ds--secondary bg-transparent hover:bg-transparent !border !border-solid !text-black border-black hover:border-gray-mid-neutral
      focus:!bg-white focus:ring-4 focus:ring-silversand
      active:ring-0 active:!bg-gray-mid-neutral active:!text-white lg:!hidden w-full sm:w-auto sm:min-w-[190px] lg:min-w-0 my-2" data-link-type="global-nav">Subscribe</button></form>

https://www.inquirer.com/donate/

<form class="flex justify-center items-center w-full sm:w-auto
        lg:hidden" action="https://www.inquirer.com/donate/"><button aria-label="Support local news" class="inq-button-ds cursor-pointer font-grot10 !normal-case !text-md !leading-5 min-h-[40px] px-6 py-2.5 !font-medium 
    text-white inline-flex 
    justify-center items-center text-center 
    not-italic rounded 
    box-border focus:ring-4 
    transition-all duration-300 ease-out inq-button-ds--secondary bg-transparent hover:bg-transparent !border !border-solid !text-black border-black hover:border-gray-mid-neutral
      focus:!bg-white focus:ring-4 focus:ring-silversand
      active:ring-0 active:!bg-gray-mid-neutral active:!text-white support-local-news-btn w-full sm:w-auto sm:min-w-[190px] lg:min-w-0 my-2" data-link-type="global-nav">Support local news</button></form>

Text Content

Skip to content
Friday, April 12, 2024
Today's Paper

Sign In / Sign Up
Sign inSUBSCRIBE

Keep reading by creating a free account or signing in.
Sign in/Sign up
Subscribe
Support local news
Sign out
NewsSportsBettingBusinessOpinionPoliticsEntertainmentLifeFoodHealthReal
EstateObituariesJobs

Politics
Share Icon
Facebook Logo
Share on Facebook
Twitter
Share on Twitter
Email
Share via Email
Link Icon
Copy Link
Link copied to clipboard


‘PINK SLIME’ SITES MASQUERADE AS REAL NEWS. THERE ARE 65 IN PENNSYLVANIA ALONE.

These sites distort news and spew misinformation, much of it computer-generated,
experts say. The goal is to muddy the waters of discourse.


The April 4 version of the West Montgomery Times, designated by experts as a
pink slime site.Read moreWest Montgomery Times
by Alfred Lubrano
Published Apr. 5, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET



At first glance, it seems that State Sen. Tracy Pennycuick is the most
indispensable person in Montgomery County.



That’s because there’s nearly an entire newspaper dedicated to the Republican,
who represents parts of Montgomery and Berks Counties.



To explain: The April 3 online edition of the West Montgomery Times presents 18
stories on its home page.



Fourteen of them — essentially one-sided news releases, many of them repeated —
focus exclusively on the accomplishments of Pennycuick. The stories are
accompanied by 11 headshots of the senator, all of them the same. Then, if you
click on the Local Government page, you’ll find 25 stories about Pennycuick,
many of the same as the home page, all with the identical photo. A Pennycuick
spokesperson said the office was unaware of the site.


Powered By

10



50 years of Philly hip-hop, America’s most enduring — and influential — musical
genre


Share


Next
Stay






The West Montgomery Times’ Local Government page, by the way, also includes 35
stories that contain lists of county inmates and their ages. Twenty of the
stories, each with a different date, begin with the same sentence: “Black is the
most common ethnicity among inmates in Montgomery County, according to the
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.”



All of it, experts say, is so much “pink slime.”




HOW CAN YOU SPOT A PINK SLIME WEBSITE?



The West Montgomery Times, which is made to look like the online edition of a
newspaper, is a so-called pink slime news site, one of an estimated 65 in
Pennsylvania, according to experts.



These publications distort news and spew misinformation, much of it
computer-generated, experts say. The goal is to muddy the waters of journalism
and discourse so a consensus of thought is not achievable, according to a
comprehensive 2020 report, “‘Pink Slime’: Partisan Journalism and the Future of
Local News,” written by the the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia
University’s Graduate School of Journalism.





The confusion fosters an environment of polarization that spawns culture wars,
the report continued.




WHAT’S THE ORIGIN OF PINK SLIME JOURNALISM? WHY IS IT CALLED THAT?



Pink slime refers to unlabeled bits of cartilage and other chemically treated
scrap meat going into some U.S. ground beef, according to Reuters.



It’s come to mean unreliable information sites masquerading as local news often
containing algorithmically generated content. There are few if no reporters and
no transparency of ownership. Most are run by “dark money” organizations that
support conservative causes, experts say. Their purpose is to fill vacancies
created by continually folding local newspapers.





The market is ripe for “misinformation to flourish,” said Matt Jordan, director
of the Penn State University News Literacy Initiative. Jordan said people can
avoid pink slime sites by getting their news from genuine sites, which have
reporter bylines, a masthead of editors, and an “About” section that lists the
publisher and where they’re located.



“If you don’t know who’s behind what you’re reading,” Jordan concluded, “you’re
being boondoggled.”




WHO IS BEHIND PINK SLIME JOURNALISM?



Since the 2010s, increasing numbers of people have been investing in online
content across the United States that “looks like local journalism but primarily
functions as political advertising,” according to the Tow report.



One of the largest purveyors of pink slime news in the United States is Metric
Media, which, according to Tow, owns most such sites — an estimated 1,200 —
including the West Montgomery Times. The company has ties to conservative groups
and donors, the Tow report asserted.





Metric Media did not respond to requests for comment. A statement by the
company, written in the Happy Valley Times — a sister site of the West
Montgomery Times — described by experts as a pink slime site, read, “Our
approach is to provide objective, data-driven information without political
bias.”



Often, pink slime news outlets won’t overtly state a political view, Jordan
said. “They just don’t tell you bad news about the sides they’re promoting,” he
added: “Sins of omission.”



Experts said they hadn’t run across left-leaning pink slime sites.



They added that it’s not clear whether the sites, which are not behind paywalls,
make money. Where they succeed is in placing conservative ideas in social media,
academics say.





It’s hard to know how it’s playing.



“There are no compelling studies measuring the influence of pink slime sites,”
noted Anthony Nadler, professor of media and communication at Ursinus College.



Still, the Tow report offered a clue: A 35-year-old Philadelphia man identified
as Peter was asked by researchers to read the Pennsylvania Record, a site
identified as slime that Tow learned is owned by an affiliate of the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, a Republican-leaning lobbying group.



“I don’t appreciate that not being on the website,” Peter said. “It’s
suspicious, and it makes more sense why the articles are written the way they
are.”



While pink slime may not be reaching everyone, “it’s still polluting the local
information space,” said Andrea Wenzel, a professor and expert in local
journalism at Temple University. “It’s damaging.”




WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF PINK SLIME JOURNALISM?



One of the first slimers was Ben Franklin, a “Founding Forger,” according to a
February report in the Columbia Journalism Review.



In a fake 1782 newspaper, Franklin stimulated anger against the British, falsely
writing that Native American tribes had allied with the enemy by scalping women
and children.






WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PINK SLIME AND PARTISANSHIP?



So-called partisan news sites have also been springing up in news deserts. Most
are conservative, but Courier Newsroom owns a handful of liberal partisan sites.



Courier’s representatives say the distinction between its sites and pink slime
is that they employ real reporters, and openly declare their bias and mission.



“We cover reproductive rights, the implementation of President Biden’s science
and infrastructure bills,” said Sean Kitchen, 34, the Harrisburg-based political
correspondent for the Keystone, owned by Courier.



“We’re progressive, pro-democracy. Those are our core values.”



Unlike legacy newspapers that strive for objectivity, values-driven publications
“are the future of journalism,” said Danielle Strasburger, a Courier
spokesperson.



“Partisan, not pink slime.”







About Us
About The InquirerDiversity & InclusionAdvertiseContact UsLicensing &
PermissionsPhoto ReprintsNewspapers in EducationJobs & InternshipsInquirer
EventsAcel Moore WorkshopsNewsroom StaffHelp and Feedback
News & Info
NewsSportsSports BettingEntertainmentBusiness
HealthFoodLifeOpinionArchivesSpecial ReportsSite Map
Marketplace
SubscribeInquirer StoreJob ListingsAll Classifieds
Death NoticesLegal NoticesGift Subscriptions
e-Editions
The InquirerThe Daily NewsSubscriber Services
Mobile Apps
Apple iOSGoogle Android
TwitterFacebookInstagram
© 2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC
Terms of Use/Privacy Policy/Cancellation Policy/California Notice/
California residents do not sell my data request