Implementor of Evil

Asra does great work.

OPINION: WEAPONIZATION? Democrats Backing Amy Acton, Sherrod Brown Spent Over $1 Million Promoting the Site That Smeared Me Columbia Journalism Review reports the ad money behind TiffinOhio.net — a “local news” site run by a former Brown staffer whose company is registered to a Chicago apartment. Commentary by Jack Windsor Columbia Journalism Review reported Thursday that TiffinOhio.net content was promoted by more than $1 million in Facebook ads, bought by Democrat-aligned groups, pushing the site’s stories at Ohio voters before the Nov. 3 election. The site’s publisher, Dylan Poe, worked for Sherrod Brown’s 2018 Senate campaign. His company, NorthStar Civic Media LLC, is registered to a Chicago apartment. Read the full CJR report here: cjr.org/tow_center/ohio-midt… I know this site. I fact-checked it on my weekday afternoon drive-time talk-radio show — The Windsor Report — in July. On Aug. 20, I reported more in depth about its ownership and place in the Ohio political propaganda ecosystem. This is my first commentary on the CJR findings. More reports on what I call the Democrat operative fake news ecosystem in Ohio will follow. I fact-checked this site again and again I covered TiffinOhio.net stories on my Bias Buster segment multiple times before the midterms. For example, on July 22, the site published a “fact check” of a super PAC ad about Amy Acton. Its opening sentence stated as fact something Acton’s 1994 medical license application — which was highlighted in the ad against Acton — does not show and the super PAC ad never said. Nine paragraphs down, the article admitted the claim came from the Acton campaign. The “fact check” never linked the ad, and its description of the ad matched the Acton campaign’s press release line for line. But let’s be real — most people don’t read beyond the headline or first paragraph. So if the goal was to create and promote the idea that the ad said something it didn’t — mission accomplished. That same month, I took apart a TiffinOhio.net “fact check” that said Sen. Jon Husted’s (R-OH) ads misled voters about illegal immigrants getting Medicaid. Again, the “fact check” was easily debunked. I found the same thing each time I examined the website’s work — half the story, one side of the story, published under the words “fact check” despite the content clearly being Democrat propaganda. The Acton campaign and the Brown campaign put TiffinOhio.net in their campaign materials as though it were a legitimate news outlet. CJR calls sites like this “pink slime” — partisan-run websites dressed up as local news. It counted more than 60 in Ohio, run by operatives of both parties. CJR reports the buyers of the TiffinOhio.net ads. The list includes the campaign of Governor-elect Amy Acton (D-OH) and WinSenate, a super PAC backing Senator-elect Sherrod Brown (D-OH). CJR put WinSenate’s share alone at $894,000 to $1.06 million. TiffinOhio.net spent about $1,300 promoting itself. Poe denies his site is pink slime. The “reporters” TiffinOhio.net pages state content is “Generated by NorthStar AI” and “AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed.” I sent questions to the site’s “reporters.” I asked three times whether “Dave Miller” — listed as a reporter on the site — is a human being. No one answered that question. I offered to arrange a phone call to discuss a significant omission and false presentation in one of their reports, but “Dave” refused vehemently via email (which read like an AI bot generated it). I concluded that the bylines are fictitious names, and that AI-generated stories run under them. That is my opinion, based on the site’s own labels and its silence. CJR found 75 names on the site’s author page when it searched on Nov. 10. It identified five as staff and could not verify four of the five. That page was down by Nov. 11. Poe told CJR his staff are real people. The questions I asked Acton and Pepper I asked the Acton campaign about TiffinOhio.net. I asked Lieutenant Governor-elect David Pepper (D-OH) specifically — on more than one occasion. I asked what relationship he and Acton have with the site. I asked why their campaign put the site in campaign materials after it was fact-checked multiple times for half-true content, one-sided stories, propaganda and falsities — and after it refused my own credible and customary requests to correct stories. First the lawyers, then the hit pieces In the spring, I received two cease-and-desist letters from Elias Law Group, the Acton campaign’s law firm. Marc Elias, the controversial Democrat election lawyer, founded it. In my opinion, the letters were meant to sideline me. I kept reporting. Then TiffinOhio.net started publishing hit pieces about me. There are many. I am not an elected official. I am not a candidate. I am a reporter who asked questions about Amy Acton, David Pepper, Sherrod Brown and ultimately about TiffinOhio.net and other websites like it that deliver political propaganda to Ohioans. The site that smeared me is the same site the Acton campaign paid to promote. The calls and texts It happened more than once. I’d report on the radio or post on social media. TiffinOhio.net would republish its smear pieces on me. Then I’d receive about a half-dozen robocalls. All were harassing. Some were threatening. One call said the caller was a reporter with TiffinOhio.net. Vulgar text messages were also sent. I do not know who sent them. I suspect they are connected to TiffinOhio.net, and I state that as my suspicion, not as a proven fact. I called and wrote the outlet to inquire about my suspicions, but no one responded. What comes next Come January, five of Ohio’s six statewide executive offices belong to Democrats — governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer. Acton’s campaign lawyers sent me cease-and-desist letters. When that didn’t chill me, a Democrat operative website that Acton’s campaign paid Facebook to promote published hit pieces on me. I received threatening calls. Then texts. It all happened while Acton was a candidate. What happens to a reporter who asks these questions — and more — when her administration runs the state? What happens to you? Is this what weaponization looks like in Ohio? Governor-elect Acton, Lieutenant Governor-elect Pepper, Mr. Poe — answer the questions. If you got a robocall or a text message like the ones I described, send it to jack.windsor@theohiopressnetwork.com.