A joint investigation into a misinformation campaign connected to dirty fuel interests is highlighting the dangers of the media echo chambers, with millions on the line for struggling farmers in rural Ohio, according to ProPublica.
What's happening?
In early October, ProPublica detailed the ongoing battle over a large solar panel project by Open Road Renewables in Knox County, Ohio. Most of the landowners who want to lease land for the project are farmers, who have around $60 million hanging in the balance.
The investigation, conducted with the Tow Center for Digital Journalism and nonprofit newsroom Floodlight, found that the purchase of the struggling Mount Vernon News by Metric Media was playing a key role in the spread of one-sided analysis opposing the clean-energy project and attacking proponents of it.
Owned by the same family since 1939 prior to the sale, Mount Vernon News is now part of a network running more than 1,100 local news sites described by media researchers and journalists as "pink slime" — in reference to the filler in processed meat, per the investigation.
As ProPublica notes, "pink slime" sites span the political divide. In other words, both conservative and liberal sites like these are publishing material.
As for Metric Media, it is headed by conservative Brian Timpone, whose operations have come under fire for allegedly fabricating quotes and plagiarizing reports. (Timpone said foreign writers were to blame and apologized, and he has claimed his sites aren't partisan, per the report.)
According to ProPublica, the media organization's nonprofit arm has also received over $1 million from a "dark money" group with "significant funding" from Charles and David Koch, who have deep ties to the oil and gas industry. Because nonprofits do not have to disclose their donors, the group is unnamed (hence the moniker "dark money" group).
Ultimately, the joint investigation suggests that methane gas compressor manufacturer Ariel Corporation — Knox County's biggest employer who refused to comment on the matter for the investigation — was actively opposing the solar project behind the scenes.
However, the sale to Metric was seemingly a driving force behind giving a public platform to skewed information, along with other players connected to dirty energy interests.
🗣️ Do you think misinformation is a major problem in America today?
🔘 Definitely 💯
🔘 Only for some people 😒
🔘 Only with certain issues 🤔
🔘 Not really 🙅
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
For example, according to ProPublica, dark-money gas advocacy group The Empowerment Alliance has spent more than $6 million on a "public education campaign" since 2020, including the publication of an "Afternoon TEA" section in Mount Vernon News praising the benefits of gas, a highly polluting fuel.
Why is this concerning?
For his part, Timpone has said in previous interviews that his business is supporting local news organizations, as ProPublica pointed out.
However, the newspaper's staff was gutted as part of the sale, with Metric telling employees that they would become contractors and no longer receive benefits. Kay Culbertson, former owner of Mount Vernon News, and assistant publisher Liz Lutwick called out Metric for not living up to its promises as part of the joint investigation.
"You believe people," Lutwick said of the decision to sell, while Culbertson added: "It was awful. You feel like you've betrayed people."
ProPublica notes that the suspect claims about solar are now swirling in Knox County as well. It is unclear from the report which rumors may be directly connected to Metric's coverage, but one of the rumors is that solar panels are toxic.
However, solar is the safest form of energy, according to Our World in Data, with photovoltaic systems that convert sunlight into power producing none of the pollution associated with millions of premature deaths.
Other rumors include that solar panels decrease property values (the opposite is generally true, per Baker Home Energy, citing a multistate study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and an unfounded conspiracy theory that the solar technology is part of a plan for China to invade.
Third-generation farmer Rich Piar, who hopes to lease part of his 1,650 acres to Open Road Renewables as part of the Frasier Solar Project, told ProPublica, "People are so radicalized and they're not thinking clearly."
What can be done about this?
Educating yourself about critical climate issues and learning how to spot greenwashing are ways that you can help protect yourself against possible misinformation as you ask questions and critically engage with the influx of information in a digital age.
Frasier Solar also has a learning center for people who want to investigate the implications of the project further.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
