Courier Newsroom

Courier Newsroom was founded in 2019 by Tara McGowan. As of May 2020, Courier Newsroom websites had a budget of $11 million, a staff of 60 reporters and 12 editors, and aimed to publish approximately 300 articles and videos a week. Courier Newsroom raised $15 million in the first half of 2022 from donors including Reid Hoffman and George Soros. The outlet spent over $5 million on Facebook and Instagram advertising designed to promote Democratic candidates and members of Congress.{{cite magazine |last1=Scola |first1=Nancy |title=The Election-Swinging, Facebook-Fueled, Get-Out-the-Vote Machine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/the-election-swinging-facebook-fueled-get-out-the-vote-machine/ |access-date=30 December 2022 |magazine=Wired |date=October 6, 2022}} Mark Zuckerberg's concern that the Courier Newsroom was not a real news outlet sparked a 2020 change in policy at Facebook, which started to limit the reach of partisan sites by restricting their access and curtailing their advertising.{{cite news |last1=Glazer |first1=Deepa Seetharaman and Emily |title=How Mark Zuckerberg Learned Politics |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-mark-zuckerberg-learned-politics-11602853200 |accessdate=19 October 2020 |work=Wall Street Journal |date=16 October 2020}} Courier Newsroom was originally owned by liberal dark money group ACRONYM, but ACRONYM later divested its stake in the company in April 2021.{{Cite news|title=The new journalism — and the PR firms behind it|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/checks-balances-journalism-pr/2021/06/04/df35c110-b3fa-11eb-9059-d8176b9e3798_story.html|access-date=2021-06-09|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web|last=Staff|first=ACRONYM|date=2021-04-30|title=ACRONYM Announces Leadership Changes, New Chapter for Organization|url=https://www.anotheracronym.org/acronym-transition-announcement/|access-date=2021-06-09|website=ACRONYM|language=en-US}}

As of June 2021, Courier Newsroom operates progressive digital news outlets in ten states.{{cite news |last1=Izadi |first1=Elahe |date=June 4, 2021 |title=The new journalism — and the PR firms behind it |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/checks-balances-journalism-pr/2021/06/04/df35c110-b3fa-11eb-9059-d8176b9e3798_story.html |access-date=June 5, 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post}} In June 2021, the company acquired a progressive political news site, Iowa Starting Line, which the New York Times called "the best political journalism you've never heard of."{{Cite news|last=Grynbaum|first=Michael M.|date=2020-01-31|title=A Scrappy Iowa Start-Up Is the 'It' Read for Political Insiders|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/business/media/iowa-caucus-media-starting-line.html|access-date=2021-06-29|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|last=Pfannenstiel|first=Brianne|title=Liberal outlet Iowa Starting Line gets new owner, new focus on fighting political disinformation|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/28/liberal-iowa-starting-line-gets-new-owner-new-stability/5323481001/|access-date=2021-06-29|website=Des Moines Register|language=en-US}}

The Courier Newsroom's local digital news outlets are not traditional town newspapers. Instead, they are websites designed to encourage people in key swing states to vote Democratic, while looking like local newspapers.{{cite news |last1=Tobias Hoonhout |title=YouTube Sponsors Progressive Outlet to Create Nonpartisan 'Academy' for Local News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/youtube-sponsors-progressive-outlet-create-160713089.html |accessdate=14 February 2020 |work=Yahoo News |date=11 February 2020 |quote=started a for-profit news organization called Courier last year to roll out pro-Democrat coverage under the guise of “local news” in key swing states}}{{efn|the effort is also designed to help elect Democrats, by delivering partisan news stories to swing-state voters on Facebook}} The articles are promoted on social media such as Facebook, which does not prohibit the practice because the newspapers are for-profit.{{cite news |last1=Joshua Green |title=The Left's Plan to Slip Vote-Swaying News Into Facebook Feeds |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-11-25/acronym-s-newsrooms-are-a-liberal-digital-spin-on-local-news |accessdate=7 February 2020 |work=Bloomberg |date=25 November 2019}}

Funders include George Soros, Reid Hoffman, and movie producers.{{cite news |last1=Schneider |first1=Elena |title=Left-wing Midwest media outlet launching with backing from Dem donor |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/18/left-wing-midwest-media-outlet-launch-522919 |access-date=14 December 2021 |work=POLITICO |date=November 18, 2021 |language=en}} Courier Newsroom received $250,000 from Planned Parenthood between June 2021 and June 2022. It received $715,000 in 2022 from "a dark money group with close ties to the Democratic Attorneys General Association" for "content creation and promotion."{{cite news |last1=Severns |first1=Maggie |date=25 March 2024 |title=How a Former Democratic Operative Is Testing the Limits of What a Newsroom Can Be |url=https://www.notus.org/democrats/courier-newsrooms-mcgowan |access-date=2 April 2024 |work=NOTUS}} According to NOTUS, that same year "Courier wrote frequently and favorably of a Democratic attorney general candidate in Nevada named Aaron Ford." Ford won his election.

In 2020, the Hopewell Fund backed Courier Newsroom. The New York Times reported that Courier "published articles favoring Democrats and received millions of dollars from dark money groups. It was paid $2.6 million by a nonprofit linked to House Democratic leadership to promote articles."{{cite news |last1=Vogel |first1=Kenneth P. |last2=Goldmacher |first2=Shane |title=Democrats Decried Dark Money. Then They Won With It in 2020. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/29/us/politics/democrats-dark-money-donors.html |access-date=31 January 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=29 January 2022}}

As of 2024, Courier Newsroom had spent more than $12 million on Facebook and Instagram ads. This number does not include spending on TikTok, which does not disclose advertising spending.

In October 2024, Courier Newsroom spent over $6 million on political ads on Facebook, making them the third highest spender on political ads on Meta, trailing only the Harris and Trump campaigns themselves. According to the Columbia Journalism Review, "Courier's pattern of spending in the 2024 election cycle also raises inevitable questions about funding sources and demonstrates to what extent the network is a campaigning tool rather than local journalism." Courier's ads recruited participants "to a program that claims they can receive up to $400 for talking to their family and friends about 'voting for Kamala Harris and Democrats this election cycle.'"{{cite news |last1=Mehta |first1=Dhrumil |last2=Gotfredsen |first2=Sarah Grevy |last3=Chetia |first3=Ananya |last4=Gandhi |first4=Hazel |last5=Hafeez |first5=Somaiyah |last6=Robinson |first6=C. J. |last7=Ulanbek |first7=Suiumkan |title=Courier Newsroom Spent Big on a Meta Ad Blitz in October |url=https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/courier-newsroom-spent-big-on-a-meta-ad-blitz-in-october.php |access-date=30 December 2024 |work=Columbia Journalism Review |date=November 5, 2024 |language=en}}

In February 2025, Tara McGowan addressed a summit of Democratic donors and operatives that had gathered to "discuss how the left's well-funded digital media ecosystem failed in the 2024 election."{{cite news |last1=Tani |first1=Max |title=Democrats, influencers huddle for a new new media strategy |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/02/16/2025/democrats-influencers-huddle-for-a-new-new-media-strategy |access-date=February 17, 2025 |publisher=Semafor |date=February 16, 2025}} The meeting included representatives of the Emerson Collective, Catalist, Soros Fund Management, NowThis, and Crooked Media. The production of more effective short and long form video was discussed as was "how to better collaborate with influencers to push progressive messages out."

Courier Newsroom was originally owned by ACRONYM;{{cite news |last1=Emily Stewart |title=Acronym, the dark money group behind the Iowa caucuses app meltdown, explained |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/acronym-the-dark-money-group-behind-the-iowa-caucuses-app-meltdown-explained/ar-BBZGWs2?li=BBm5HwI |accessdate=7 February 2020 |work=MSN |date=6 February 2020 |quote=the Courier Newsroom, a for-profit media company under Acronym’s umbrella that runs multiplelocal sites that deliver left-slanted news}}{{cite news |last1=Deutch |first1=Gabby |title=Is it local journalism, or just local propaganda? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/06/is-it-local-journalism-or-just-local-propaganda/#comments-wrapper |accessdate=7 February 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=6 February 2020 |quote=Courier’s main backer is Acronym, a liberal dark-money group}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.anotheracronym.org/about/|title = About ACRONYM}} the creation and operation of Courier Newsroom initially raised ethics questions about ACRONYM and about its financiers, who include billionaires Reid Hoffman and Laurene Powell Jobs.{{cite news |first1=Alex|last1=Thompson |title=Newsroom or PAC? Liberal group muddies online information wars |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/14/newsroom-pac-liberal-info-wars-356800 |accessdate=5 September 2020 |work=Politico |date=14 July 2020 |quote=Acronym — a sprawling digital organization whose programs include millions of dollars in traditional political advertising and voter engagement efforts, with financing from some of the deepest pockets in progressive politics, such as liberal billionaires Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, and Laurene Powell Jobs, the majority owner of The Atlantic — has stirred outrage and provoked debate about the ethics of such political tactics}} A complaint to the Federal Elections Commission was dismissed and ACRONYM has since dissolved.

Carrie Brown, director of social journalism at the journalism school at City University of New York, found the targeting of news to swing voters "problematic."{{efn|Carrie Brown, director of social journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. But the notion of targeting it directly at specific voters in swing states, "that is interesting and more problematic."}} Vox reported that "the Courier Newsroom launch did raise some eyebrows. If this were a Republican operative declaring its strategy like this, a lot of Democrats probably would have criticized it."{{cite news |title=Acronym, the dark money group behind the Iowa caucuses app meltdown, explained |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/2/5/21123009/acronym-tara-mcgowan-shadow-app-iowa-caucus-results |accessdate=7 February 2020 |work=Vox |quote=the Courier Newsroom launch did raise some eyebrows. If this were a Republican operative declaring its strategy like this, a lot of Democrats probably would have criticized it.}} According to OpenSecrets, "websites affiliated with Courier Newsroom that appear to be free-standing local news outlets are actually part of a coordinated effort with deep ties to Democratic political operatives."

NewsGuard, which rates news sources, warns readers that Courier Newsroom websites are "insufficiently transparent" and "cherry-pick facts to advance a Democratic narrative." Gabby Deutch, writing on behalf of NewsGuard, called Courier News a "faux news site" and said while "[u]nlike some sources of partisan disinformation, Courier stories are generally fact-based" its strategy is nevertheless "pumping up moderate Democrats elected to Congress in 2018 in Republican-leaning districts." In 2020, NewsGuard rated the Courier websites as "generally unreliable."{{efn|assessed the Courier websites as "generally unreliable."{{cite news |last1=Jeremy B. Merrill |last2=Hanna Kozlowska |title=A well-heeled liberal group is filling the local news void with Trump-bashing coronavirus ads |url=https://qz.com/1837224/well-funded-liberal-news-network-pushes-partisan-covid-19-content/ |accessdate=3 May 2020 |work=Quartz (publication) |date=15 April 2020 |language=en}}}} In 2024, NewGuard's editor said that "Courier Newsroom sites do not disclose ownership and financing, they do not disclose possible conflicts of interest, nor do they gather and present information responsibility." NewsGuard, a misinformation tracking company that rates the reliability of news sources, has warned that "Courier's undisclosed funders and glowing coverage of Democratic candidates should raise questions about its reliability." A 2024 study by NewsGuard found that "the number of partisan-backed outlets designed to look like impartial news outlets has officially surpassed the number of real, local daily newspapers in the U.S." NewsGuard identified at least 1,265 such websites "backed by dark money or intentionally masquerading as local news sites for political purposes." According to Axios, almost half of these websites are targeted to swing states, "a clear sign that they're designed to influence politics." Courier Newsroom was described by Axios as having "some of the more strategic sites."{{cite news |last1=Fischer |first1=Sara |date=June 11, 2024 |title=Dark money news outlets outpacing local daily newspapers |url=https://www.axios.com/2024/06/11/partisan-news-websites-dark-money |access-date=12 June 2024 |publisher=Axios}}

NOTUS wrote that "Courier grew out of a series of explicitly political experiments that hinged on using paid online advertising to turn out voters. It then pivoted to being a privately owned media company" that is "testing the limits of what a newsroom can be."

According to The Wall Street Journal, outlets like Courier try to capitalize on readers' trust in local news sources "while playing down their partisan interests and often obscuring their donors."{{cite news |last1=Glazer |first1=Emily |last2=Hagley |first2=Keach |date=19 October 2020 |title=Partisan Sites Posing as Local News Expand Ahead of Election |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/partisan-sites-posing-as-local-news-expand-ahead-of-election-11603077119 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019033004/https://www.wsj.com/articles/partisan-sites-posing-as-local-news-expand-ahead-of-election-11603077119 |archive-date=19 October 2020 |accessdate=19 October 2020 |work=Wall Street Journal}}

The Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) described Courier's business model as "money from interested parties who seek a particular political outcome."{{cite news |last1=Bell |first1=Emily |title=Local news faces a political future as the JCPA falls foul of lobbyists |url=https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/local-news-faces-a-political-future-as-the-jcpa-falls-foul-of-lobbyists.php |access-date=30 December 2022 |work=Columbia Journalism Review |date=December 12, 2022 |language=en}} CJR also reported that Courier engages in political microtargeting wherein "employees at Courier's headquarters are responsible for testing whether content produced by its local newsrooms is successful in moving voters in a desired progressive direction."{{cite news |last1=Grevy Gotfredsen |first1=Sarah |title=The Progressive News Network, Courier, Keeps a Foot in Eight Swing States. This local Michigan Newsroom is one of them. |url=https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/the-progressive-news-network-courier-keeps-a-foot-in-eight-swing-states-this-local-michigan-newsroom-is-one-of-them.php |access-date=30 December 2022 |work=Columbia Journalism Review |date=November 22, 2022 |language=en}}

Courier Newsroom has been accused of producing pink-slime journalism.{{cite web |title=Democrats Spending Fortune on Fake News in Campaign Final Stretch {{!}} Opinion MATTHEW FOLDI, CONSERVATIVE JOURNALIST |url=https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-spending-fortune-fake-news-campaign-final-stretch-opinion-1757246 |website=Newsweek |date=7 November 2022 |access-date=14 March 2023}}{{cite web |last=Alba |first=Davey |date=October 27, 2022 |title=Meta is making millions off political ads from fake 'pink slime' newsrooms |url=https://fortune.com/2022/10/27/meta-facebook-instagram-making-millions-political-ads-fake-pink-slime-newsrooms-newsguard/ |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=Fortune}}{{cite news |last1=Hasen |first1=Richard L. |author-link=Richard L. Hasen |date=February 23, 2020 |title=Opinion: If Democrats fight right-wing "fake news" fire with fire, we all lose |url=https://www.salon.com/2020/02/23/if-democrats-fight-right-wing-fake-news-fire-with-fire-we-all-lose/ |accessdate=28 May 2020 |work=Salon}}

Courier Newsroom lists 11 affiliated websites:{{cite web |title=About COURIER |url=https://couriernewsroom.com/about/ |website=COURIER |access-date=30 December 2024 |language=en}}

• Iowa Starting Line, Iowa, acquired June 2021. Founder Pat Rynard{{Cite web |title=Press Releases |url=https://couriernewsroom.com/press-releases/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628145720/https://couriernewsroom.com/press-releases/ |archive-date=2021-06-28 |access-date=2021-06-29 |website=COURIER |language=en-US}}
• Copper Courier, Arizona, launched October 2019.
• The Dogwood, launched mid-2019. At launch, The Dogwood was owned by an ACRONYM subsidiary, For What Is Worth Media, Inc.{{cite news |last1=Sara Fischer |date=9 July 2019 |title=Progressive non-profit ACRONYM to invest $1M in local media effort |url=https://www.axios.com/acronym-investment-dogwood-31891461-9f8c-474c-b94e-5bd7d113e077.html |accessdate=7 February 2020 |work=Axios |quote=The Dogwood is owned by the for-profit FWIW Media. While it's non-partisan, ACRONYM says it's investing}}
• Up North News, Wisconsin. Founding Editor: Pat Kreitlow.{{cite news |last1=Chris Rickert |date=4 January 2020 |title=With 2020 in sight, dark-money sites look to distribute their versions of the news |url=https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/with-in-sight-dark-money-sites-look-to-distribute-their/article_4b472142-cea3-53e8-b617-1903e3177c42.html |accessdate=7 February 2020 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |quote=UpNorthNews' managing editor, Pat Kreitlow}}
• The 'Gander, Michigan
• Cardinal & Pine, North Carolina.{{efn|A Facebook ad about Trump and the pandemic from "Cardinal & Pine," a North Carolina-focused Courier outlet, was seen disproportionately by people who were young and female, a group that turns out at a relatively low rate, but tends to support Democrats}}
• The Keystone
• The Nevadan
• Floricua, Florida
• Granite Post, New Hampshire
• Courier Texas

• Democracy Docket
• MeidasTouch
• More Perfect Union
• States Newsroom
• The Lever

{{notelist}}

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• {{Official website}}
• [https://www.newsguardtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Courier-Newsroom-NewsGuard-Nutrition-Label.pdf Courier Newsroom profile factsheet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519043101/https://www.newsguardtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Courier-Newsroom-NewsGuard-Nutrition-Label.pdf |date=2020-05-19 }} via NewsGuard

Category:American news websites

Category:Mass media companies based in Washington, D.C.

Category:Progressive organizations in the United States

Category:Internet properties established in 2019