https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... m1a1VYecwUAdam Gabbatt
@adamgabbatt
Wed 17 Nov 2021 05.00 EST
Rightwing operatives in the US are using a huge network of fake local news sites to target crucial state elections, with the sites publishing tens of thousands of conservative-skewed articles on politically charged subjects, many of them misleading or wrong, over the past 11 months.
An investigation by Popular Information, an online newsletter founded by journalist Judd Legum, found that in Virginia 28 sites, each purporting to be local news outlets and all owned by the same company, published almost 5,000 articles about critical race theory in schools.
CRT is an academic discipline that examines the ways in which racism operates in US laws and society. It is not taught in Virginia schools. But the idea of CRT has become an inflammatory call to arms, or at least to the ballot box, among the right wing.
The Virginia sites published the articles, many of which addressed spurious Republican claims about CRT threatening to dominate school curriculums, as the gubernatorial race in the state loomed.
Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, triumphed over Terry McAuliffe in the 3 November election, after he exploited concerns over teaching about race and promised to ban CRT from classrooms.
The Virginia “local news” sites, which include the Central Virginia Times and the Fredericksburg Leader, are run by Metric Media, an organization that operates more than 1,300 “community news sites” across the US and is linked to Locality Labs, both of which are overseen by Brian Timpone.
In 2020 the New York Times revealed that the two companies, along with others involved in publishing the sites, “have received at least $1.7m from Republican political campaigns and conservative groups”. The Times reported that conservative organizations were able to “order” articles from news websites owned by Metric Media and its affiliates attacking Democratic political candidates.
Metric Media and Brian Timpone did not respond to requests for comment.
Between January and November 2021, the 28 Virginia Metric Media sites published 4,657 articles about critical race theory in schools, Popular Information found.
Many of those stories were automated, referencing an online pledge to “refuse to lie to young people about US history and current events” – described by Metric Media as a pledge by educators to teach CRT. But there is no evidence on the website for the pledge that the people who have signed it are teachers.
Signees must list their city and state, and Metric Media appears to use an automated system to generate articles based on whether anyone has signed from a town or city covered by a Metric Media news outlet.
That system enables the Central Shenandoah News, which theoretically covers the area in north-west of Virginia, to run regular articles based on the same source. Last week, it ran the following two pieces:
No new teachers in Harrisonburg sign pledge on Nov. 2 to teach Critical Race Theory
No new teachers in Harrisonburg sign pledge on Nov. 1 to teach Critical Race Theory
The Central Shenandoah News has run the same version of the Harrisonburg article since August, including almost daily since the beginning of October. It has also regurgitated the format for nearby Staunton
Critical Race Theory
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Re: Critical Race Theory
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Re: Critical Race Theory
So are you saying CRT within public schools is non existent?kalm wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:11 am
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... m1a1VYecwUAdam Gabbatt
@adamgabbatt
Wed 17 Nov 2021 05.00 EST
Rightwing operatives in the US are using a huge network of fake local news sites to target crucial state elections, with the sites publishing tens of thousands of conservative-skewed articles on politically charged subjects, many of them misleading or wrong, over the past 11 months.
An investigation by Popular Information, an online newsletter founded by journalist Judd Legum, found that in Virginia 28 sites, each purporting to be local news outlets and all owned by the same company, published almost 5,000 articles about critical race theory in schools.
CRT is an academic discipline that examines the ways in which racism operates in US laws and society. It is not taught in Virginia schools. But the idea of CRT has become an inflammatory call to arms, or at least to the ballot box, among the right wing.
The Virginia sites published the articles, many of which addressed spurious Republican claims about CRT threatening to dominate school curriculums, as the gubernatorial race in the state loomed.
Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, triumphed over Terry McAuliffe in the 3 November election, after he exploited concerns over teaching about race and promised to ban CRT from classrooms.
The Virginia “local news” sites, which include the Central Virginia Times and the Fredericksburg Leader, are run by Metric Media, an organization that operates more than 1,300 “community news sites” across the US and is linked to Locality Labs, both of which are overseen by Brian Timpone.
In 2020 the New York Times revealed that the two companies, along with others involved in publishing the sites, “have received at least $1.7m from Republican political campaigns and conservative groups”. The Times reported that conservative organizations were able to “order” articles from news websites owned by Metric Media and its affiliates attacking Democratic political candidates.
Metric Media and Brian Timpone did not respond to requests for comment.
Between January and November 2021, the 28 Virginia Metric Media sites published 4,657 articles about critical race theory in schools, Popular Information found.
Many of those stories were automated, referencing an online pledge to “refuse to lie to young people about US history and current events” – described by Metric Media as a pledge by educators to teach CRT. But there is no evidence on the website for the pledge that the people who have signed it are teachers.
Signees must list their city and state, and Metric Media appears to use an automated system to generate articles based on whether anyone has signed from a town or city covered by a Metric Media news outlet.
That system enables the Central Shenandoah News, which theoretically covers the area in north-west of Virginia, to run regular articles based on the same source. Last week, it ran the following two pieces:
No new teachers in Harrisonburg sign pledge on Nov. 2 to teach Critical Race Theory
No new teachers in Harrisonburg sign pledge on Nov. 1 to teach Critical Race Theory
The Central Shenandoah News has run the same version of the Harrisonburg article since August, including almost daily since the beginning of October. It has also regurgitated the format for nearby Staunton
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Re: Critical Race Theory
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Re: Critical Race Theory
Well, it's also reasonable to be suspicious of people being suspicious in the first place, which of course begets people being suspicious of the additional suspicious people. Quite the rabbit hole.
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Re: Critical Race Theory
Or you can just be suspicious of everything. I think many of us here are.
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Re: Critical Race Theory
I'm suspicious of people who are overly suspicious of everything, mostly for the sole purpose of being suspicious. Thus, here we are.
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Re: Critical Race Theory
I don't have the time nor energy to be suspicious of everything. I need to pick and choose.
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Re: Critical Race Theory
I most suspicious of people who judge others for being suspicious. What do they know?
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Re: Critical Race Theory
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Re: Critical Race Theory
Andy, kalm is lying in this thread. It's very clear he does not believe CRT exists in schools other than colleges.
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Re: Critical Race Theory
I simply don’t know. I’m suspicious. Sorry that frustrates you.
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Re: Critical Race Theory
I have come to believe everything kalmy types is a lie.
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Re: Critical Race Theory
Nah…kalm is just a revolutionary…
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Re: Critical Race Theory
I'm suspicious you're genuine. You only post things that say no CRT in schools.
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Re: Critical Race Theory
Don’t you have teachers in the family? Is it being taught in their schools?
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Re: Critical Race Theory
My daughter teaches special ed to severely autistic students. She does not teach CRT.
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Re: Critical Race Theory
So that fella in Texas who threatened to come back with 1000 armed friends to defend teaching CRT was just making shit up?
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Re: Critical Race Theory
Sounds legit. Link?
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Re: Critical Race Theory
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/20 ... rt-oppone/
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fort-w ... tened-them
https://nypost.com/2021/11/15/texas-crt ... -soldiers/
Hmmm, I wonder why CNN or CNBC didn't cover it?
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Re: Critical Race Theory
Ok…so that’s one. Any other evidence it’s being taught in schools and whether what’s being taught is accurate? You’d think there’d be tons of teachers and admins opposed to it who could deliver the goods.UNI88 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 1:48 pmhttps://www.washingtontimes.com/news/20 ... rt-oppone/
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fort-w ... tened-them
https://nypost.com/2021/11/15/texas-crt ... -soldiers/
Hmmm, I wonder why CNN or CNBC didn't cover it?
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Re: Critical Race Theory
No I don't have evidence and to be honest I don't think it's being taught in it's entirety in a large number of schools. I do think that elements of it are being taught and that the object is not to help teach students how to think but to teach them what to think.kalm wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 2:53 pmOk…so that’s one. Any other evidence it’s being taught in schools and whether what’s being taught is accurate? You’d think there’d be tons of teachers and admins opposed to it who could deliver the goods.UNI88 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 1:48 pm
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/20 ... rt-oppone/
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fort-w ... tened-them
https://nypost.com/2021/11/15/texas-crt ... -soldiers/
Hmmm, I wonder why CNN or CNBC didn't cover it?
I also think that the crap that the Loudon County schools are pulling in trying to shield their curriculum from FOIA requests is enough to raise questions and justify concerns about CRT like teaching efforts.
But you don't want to talk about Loudon and FOIA requests, you're acting like JSO and BDK and trying to limit the focus of the discussion so you can feel like you won the debate.
Being wrong about a topic is called post partisanism - kalm
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Re: Critical Race Theory
So we’ve got Squealer (JSO) and Boxer (klam)
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Re: Critical Race Theory
What’s there to say about Loudoun? I agree it’s problematic. I’m not trying to win anything…just trying to figure out if it deserves all the attention and whether not the outcry is organic.UNI88 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 3:03 pmNo I don't have evidence and to be honest I don't think it's being taught in it's entirety in a large number of schools. I do think that elements of it are being taught and that the object is not to help teach students how to think but to teach them what to think.
I also think that the crap that the Loudon County schools are pulling in trying to shield their curriculum from FOIA requests is enough to raise questions and justify concerns about CRT like teaching efforts.
But you don't want to talk about Loudon and FOIA requests, you're acting like JSO and BDK and trying to limit the focus of the discussion so you can feel like you won the debate.