No, not the children’s sensory putty that can be made with Elmer’s glue.
“Pink slime” journalism sources are websites and other publications masquerading as local news sites that actually are low-cost, partisan operations. These sites are usually funded by PACs, think tanks or other organizations with set political agendas, and offer mainly politically-pointed articles, partisan news and unprocessed local press releases.
This is not real journalism. However, the scary part is, sometimes it can look that way.
The New York Times ran an article in October of 2020 where they found an operation of 1,300 websites that appear to be your typical local news operation, but in reality were propaganda paid for by conservative political organizations and individuals such as corporate executives, think tanks and political operatives.
While not all “pink slime” operations are as expansive as the one uncovered by the Times, many are still being created to fill the void that local newspapers leave when they close their doors.
Here are five ways to sus out whether your news source is real local news or “pink slime” propaganda:
1. Opinion articles not clearly marked
One of the largest tells of these “pink slime” journalism sites are in the articles themselves.
The headlines of the articles are politically slanted, usually accusatory and pointed towards a single party, politician or political framework. The body of the article additionally has slanted language — such as use of excessive adjectives and adverbs — and contains statements obviously based on the opinion or feelings of the writer. An example would be sentences like “The response felt inadequate.”
Newspapers and legit news organizations will always mark articles that are meant to represent the opinion of the writer, such as columns or letters to the editor, or the newspaper itself in an editorial.
While the information on these sites isn’t typically factually incorrect, they still could be misleading and are intended to deceive and push a particular agenda.
2. Advertisements not clearly marked
As the Times found in their investigation, individuals and organizations with conservative leaning agendas were funding the articles being published on these sites, however the articles were not clearly marked as advertisements.
According to law, legit newspapers and news sources are legally obligated to mark paid content and DO NOT accept payment for articles.
If you can’t figure out how the site is funded, such as through obvious advertising paid for by local businesses, maybe it’s time to find a different source for your news.
3. About us page and reporter contact information is ambiguous
Information about the reporters for the journalism organization and frankly about the organization itself should not be difficult to come by. Most local newspapers proudly share their long history and deep roots within an area through their “About Us” pages. Even newer operations typically have a blurb or a post about their beginnings.
Most newspapers will also have a short biography about their reporters and other staff with contact information, scope of coverage and a short history of their journalistic qualifications.
If information about the site and the writers on the site are difficult to come by, this is a major red flag. Organizations focused on transparency, like newspapers, should not have sources and tipsters email them at editor@fakenews.com with no other contact information available.
4. LOTS of unedited press releases
Due to the few resources available and the purposeful low cost operation of these sites, unedited press releases are often prime content featured on the site.
While press releases do have a place in legit journalism as well, they typically won’t be published as is. Newspapers will usually have someone not only decide which press releases are newsworthy enough to print, but also do some light rewrites for grammar and factual correctness.
Additionally, press releases by nature are slanted. Public relations specialists usually have the goal of writing about their organization or a political figure in a good light with little consideration for other sides. That is their job, but it doesn’t always make for good news content.
Press releases on local events and activities posted on the site also give the illusion of legitimacy, even if the primary writers and site administrators are not even located in the city or state.
5. The publication encourages anonymous tips
Not all sources want to be named or have other information about themselves shared publicly whether for safety, personal or other reasons, and that’s OK. However, a legit reporter usually still requests this information to vet their sources and ensure their claims are true.
There should be mutual trust between the reporter and their sources that protected information won’t make it to print.
Publications that encourage anonymous sources and request story tips void of context for verification not only break down established trust between legit news and sources, but also have more potential for factually incorrect articles.
BONUS: One person writing every article with little information about the one person
Since many of these “pink slime” journalism sites operate on a low-cost model, paying large amounts of staff is the least of their worries.
That being said, there are still many legit small newspapers out there without the resources to hire more than one or two writers. This reg flag is best paired with another red flag to truly decide if the site you are reading is “pink slime” journalism.
In other words, support local journalism and subscribe to your local legit newspapers so they can continue to have the resources to report fairly and fully on your community. Make no space for “pink slime” journalism and sus out if your news sources have any of the “pink slime” red flags.
