Terry McAuliffe is determined for his message to get across to everybody, and he’s determined to do that at any cost. Fox News reveals the Democrat Party’s candidate spent close to $100,000 on advertisements with websites that are synonymous with “fake news” on Facebook.
McAuliffe buys 'fake news' ads in effort to sway voters, Fox News investigation finds
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe has spent nearly $100,000 advertising "fake news" websites on Facebook
— Becky (@Becky72875829) October 27, 2021
Terry McAuliffe has been successful so far with this campaign method, as he has been able to reach up to 3.5 million impressions on Facebook by advertising on these platforms.
Fox News made this revelation with only a week left before the gubernatorial election in Virginia; both the GOP candidate and the Democrat candidate continue to fight for every single vote available.
McAuliffe’s Dirty Campaign Ads on Facebook
Terry McAuliffe might have successfully hidden this campaign tactic from the ordinary eye. However, the eagle eye of Fox News caught up with his schemes.
Like most candidates running for office, McAuliffe operates a Facebook account with his name to promote his governorship campaign. Yet, he manages another Facebook page that muddies the waters between disinformation and campaigns.
The second Facebook page is called Download Virginia. Moreover, the page’s name has similarities with a local news website. The page’s ads or publications also link to third-party websites that claim to publish local news.
However, these websites are only used to promote candidates of the Democrat Party. Besides, the so-called “non-partisan” websites have been described as partisan propaganda and disinformation tools.
The McAuliffe campaign team spent more than $470,000 on ads distributed by the Download Virginia page since June 2021. Each advertisement from this page usually contains mainstream news articles with a supportive opinion of the campaign.
However, there are also about seven separate different websites that promote “fake news,” too.
Reports that Gov. Terry McAuliffe has spent nearly $100,000 advertising "fake news" websites on Facebook during the Virginia gubernatorial campaign.
— 🇺🇸✝️ Kelly ✝️🇺🇸 (@kellytx2) October 27, 2021
These “fake news” websites are usually strategically linked to McAuliffe’s campaign ads to look genuine and random. However, these are not random posts; instead, they are carefully selected links and websites.
Exposing Some of the Websites
Earlier in July, The Download Virginia page wrote a piece about Terry McAuliffe’s views on small businesses. Included in the link is an article by a website with the name The Virginia Dogwood.
The Virginia Dogwood portrays itself as a local news website that publishes daily articles on issues relating to Virginia. Again, it has a dedicated section to give Virginians “all the news” they need.
Furthermore, Dogwood describes its publication as a website that delivers credible and fact-based reporting. In addition, the website shows it is operated and owned by Courier Newsroom. Dogwood also describes Courier Newsroom as a civic media company.
However, investigations reveal Courier Newsroom was initially founded and funded by ACRONYM, a liberal dark money group. WSJ also revealed ACRONYM was first backed by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and multibillionaire Democrat donor George Soros.
In addition, Axios announced Courier Newsroom was acquired by Tara McGowan’s Good Information Project. Tara McGowan is a very influential Democrat. There was another publication on The Download Virginia about Glenn Youngkin’s concerning vaccination policies.
This publication included a link to an article on a website called American Independent. American Independent is another website designed to look like a truly independent website.
The website also says it reports with integrity and honesty while shining the light on progressive political movements and those in power. With this, an average reader can conclude American Independent writes all stories objectively.
American Independent also lists American Bridge 21st Century Foundation as its only investor. The website described American Bridge 21st Century Foundation as a foundation that compares and contrasts conservative and progressive solutions.
However, these are all lies, as the foundation is another liberal “dark money” organization founded by David Brock. David is a rich and influential Democrat donor with close ties with the Clinton family.
Besides, the group spent close to $60 million to oppose GOP candidates during the 2020 elections. However, we can’t ascertain how much of the money was invested in American Independent.
Media experts described websites like these as forms of political disinformation and as political tools for fueling the raging fire of online disinformation and consumer mistrust. Yet, Terry McAuliffe chooses to use them to promote his campaign.
