In the wake of the political battle over redistricting, Facebook users in California were flooded with ads from a mysterious news site. 

These ads were produced by the California Courier, the latest example in the growing ecosystem of biased organizations posing as news outlets looking to covertly influence elections. 

ISD’s Max Read, who has studied the network allegedly behind the Courier, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about this growing development. 

“I think we are in an era where people are consuming so much content online without knowing the source of it,” Max explained. “And for well-funded organizations to contribute to that by disguising what they’re doing online just helps exacerbate that problem of people not trusting what they come across.” 

The LA Times cited ISD’s research into the Lincoln Media Foundation, an entity connected to the Courier. Max highlighted that sites like the Courier are not designed to generate revenue but shift political opinion, and they can have a large impact. 

“If they place an ad well or if they just get the right pickup from the right influencer, these things don’t really have a limit on how far they can go.” 

The full article is available on the Los Angeles Times.