ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

The “ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Catholic Tribuneâ€� arrived in mailboxes across the state over the last week or so, confusing recipients and upsetting the Catholic Church.

The lead headline says “Kelly Co-Sponsored Bill Bishops Call Most Unjust and Extreme...Ever Seen.� The story was critical of Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, and almost all the content either supported Republicans, denigrated Democrats, or both.

Even state Senate Pres. Karen Fann appeared to be fooled into thinking that it was an official Catholic newspaper, not the partisan mailer that it is.

In , she said, “ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Catholic Tribune scores catholic congressmen. Mark Kelly and Greg Stanton = F Tom O’Halleran = D David Schweikert = A.â€�

In fact, the publication has nothing to do with the Catholic Church, which , noting that the use of the term “Catholicâ€� in the name without permission violates Church teaching and law. The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Catholic Conference has its own publication, , and the church has a policy of remaining non-partisan.

The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Catholic Tribune appears to be part of and publications that have emerged in recent years, exploiting the decline of small local newspapers. Although the Tribune discloses almost nothing about its origins, the paper’s layout, headline style, bylines, slogan and content match those of the network run by Metric Media LLC.

“Laurie A. Luebbertâ€� is the byline above the story about Kelly and another front-page story. That name also appears on bylines of stories in the New Mexico Sun, the Lansing (Michigan) Sun, the Old North ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, the Houston Daily and the Minnesota Catholic Tribune, among other sites. If she really exists, she is extremely productive.

Many Metric Media publications bear the slogan “Real data. Real news.â€� The slogan of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Catholic Tribune is “Real data. Real value. Real news.â€� That’s also the slogan of the Grand Canyon Times, a similar publication distributed in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, which acknowledges being published by Metric Media.

“Metric Media was established to fill the void in community news after years of decline in local reporting by legacy media,� says . “This site is one of hundreds nationwide to inform citizens about news in their local communities.

by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism and Columbia Journalism Review found that advocacy groups have paid for coverage in these news sites.

, “This network acts as a convergence of special interests for free-market advocates, multiple political action committees, the fossil fuel industry, a politically motivated Catholic group, and a group propagating notions of election fraud.�

Brian Timpone, one of the main stakeholders in Metric, has long worked to create low-cost, automated journalism. A 2012 exposed how his previous company used fake bylines, fake quotes and plagiarized content.

There are also left-leaning publications that have attempted to fill the same void left by disappeared local newspapers. The in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, for example, is part of , a network of publications established by a former Democratic operative that has often pushed Democratic candidates.

The lead headline at the Courier’s website Thursday: “Blake Masters Threatens ‘Gridlock,’ Government Shutdown Over His Racist Immigration Proposals.�

The Metric Media network, though, than any other similar effort. The “ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Catholic Tribuneâ€� was mailed from Kansas City, Missouri.

Tim Steller</&h6>

Who is Citizens for Sanity?

You probably have seen the large, often sarcastic ads in the pages of the Star. Or maybe you have . In either case, is spending big to mock leftists and Democrats in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, thereby supporting Republicans. They do not, however, directly support specific candidates.

One ad in the Star, from September, said “Don’t be a racist, cisgender colonizer. Support Mark Kelly and keep our borders open.� That’s the usual tone.

But who is Citizens for Sanity? In short, it appears to be a campaign effort by Trump administration alumni.

Open Secrets, a group that investigates money in politics, that three former officials in the Trump administration play key roles in Citizens for Sanity: Gene Hamilton, John Zadrozny and Ian Prior.

, which was established by Trump’s hardline immigration advisor, Stephen Miller. That foundation has launched ads claiming the Biden administration is pushing “radical gender experiments� and “anti-white bigotry.�

Tim Steller</&h6>

Early ballots flowing in

The Pima County Recorder’s office had received 175,492 early ballots as of Thursday.

That’s out of about 488,000 early ballots sent out, or about 36 percent of the total.

According to , 1,051,655 statewide ballots have been returned so far — 420,562 from Democrats, 381,998 from Republicans and 249,095 from independents or members of other parties.

The deadline has passed for voters to mail in early ballots and ensure they are received by the county recorder’s office in time to be counted by Election Day on Nov. 8. However, early ballots can still be dropped off at any of Pima County’s .

Early voting increased during the August primaries, with early ballots accounting for about 86% of total ballots cast in Pima County, up from 63% in 2020’s primary election, according to the county recorder.

The first drop of election results is anticipated to be released about 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Nicole Ludden</&h6>

Finchem gets international scrutiny

National and international news organizations continue to focus on Oro Valley’s Mark Finchem as they cover ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s move toward election denialism.

On Sunday, Finchem once again claimed fraudulent votes had been inserted into Pima County’s tally based on an anonymous email that said so.

“It’s an open question. I want to know, was there a possibility that this happened,� Finchem said, before claiming proof.

He didn’t really have it, as reporter Scott Pelley noted.

, too, has had an English-accented reporter chasing down Finchem. When he asked Finchem about why he had voted by mail 28 times if he thinks it’s an insecure way of voting, Finchem said he only started voting in person once he lost trust in the early balloting system.

Pressed on the issue, Finchem eventually got angry and said, “You guys are frauds.�

Tim Steller

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