Florida frequently targeted by dark money news outlets, report finds

Florida is one of the states most frequently targeted by dark money news sites — partisan-backed outlets made to look like impartial news sources.

Why it matters: The sites are designed to influence politics and deceive readers, and there are now more of them than real, local daily newspapers in the country.

• That's according to a new report from NewsGuard, a misinformation tracking company.

How it works: These websites are often referred to as "pink slime," a term that originated in the ground beef industry.

• In media, it describes politically motivated websites masquerading as independent local news outlets.

Zoom in: An investigation by the Orlando Sentinel and Floodlight found political operatives working for Florida Power & Light took over The Capitolist, a Tallahassee-based political website, ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

• Executives at the state's largest utility were given influence over the site's coverage, leaked records showed.
• Floodlight later identified a half-dozen other sites with financial ties to the same consultants.

By the numbers: There are at least 1,265 websites in the U.S. backed by dark money or intentionally masquerading as local news sites for political purposes, per NewsGuard.

• Nearly half (45%) were targeted at communities or regions in swing states, according to an Axios analysis of the sites.
• The most frequently targeted states are Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Georgia.

The big picture: The rapid decline of local newspapers has left a void that partisan actors on both sides of the political spectrum are eager to exploit.

• The rise of artificial intelligence and new content generation tools have made it easier, faster and cheaper to build and market those outlets online.
• With so much news and information distributed through social media and search networks, the quality of a site often doesn't determine if it will find an audience.

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