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Could Mysterious News Site with Ties to Orange County Influence 2026 Election?

Earlier this year the California Courier ran Facebook ads during the Congressional redistricting fight linking to articles attacking Democrats including Gov. Gavin Newsom, California governor, and the site lacks ownership disclosure while appearing linked to a conservative network.
The Lincoln Media Foundation and Lincoln Club, conservative donor organization, are linked to 'pink slime' news, cheaply produced to push partisan views, investigators found last year.
Most articles on the site were unattributed or credited generically, reflecting a conservative slant, while the California Courier used paid Facebook promotion to boost visibility on right-leaning pages.
Researchers and critics warn the strategy can mislead voters and erode trust in nonpartisan local news, while Meta's rules against coordinated inauthentic behavior leave ownership questions unclear as the outlets did not respond.
Generative AI and tools like ChatGPT make producing local-style sites cheaper, and researchers who study pink slime sites say the national network of local-style sites now spreads across the United States.

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Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election?

Earlier this year, as the political battle over Congressional redistricting brought California into the national spotlight, Facebook users were shown a curious series of ads. The ads, from a straightforward-looking news site called the California Courier, often felt a lot like campaign commercials, linking to articles hammering Democrats in the state, including Gov. Gavin Newsom. Few punched in the other direction, toward Republicans. One said “…

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