Once upon a time, people got their news from big newspapers and network TV – and trusted the news to be fair, balanced, and mostly neutral.
But things have changed.
The rise of the internet and social media has completely upended how people get their information. Now journalism is a battleground.
And progressives – formerly known as liberals – are way ahead, though the extent of their advantage has largely flown under the conservative radar screen undetected.
The Left’s Media Machine
According to a Capital Research Center report, progressives have built a massive network of nonprofit news sites, blogs, and media organizations.
These aren’t just small, independent projects. They are backed by powerful foundations pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into reshaping the news landscape.
While major liberal donors like George Soros, Pierre Omidyar, and the Ford Foundation fund left-leaning journalism, conservative donors have been slower to invest in media.
Right now, progressives outspend conservatives in nonprofit media by a ratio of nearly 4-to-1. In the 2018 election cycle alone, liberal donors funneled $8.1 billion into nonprofit political efforts.
Take the MacArthur Foundation, for example.
They and other left-wing groups have pledged $500 million over five years to dominate local news. The idea? Make people trust these “local” outlets while pushing a liberal agenda.
Then there’s States Newsroom, a progressive media empire that operates in 38 states. It’s funded by Arabella Advisors, a left-wing “dark money” group that pulls in billions.
In 2021 alone, States Newsroom spent $13.2 million!
Progressives have also created Courier Newsroom, another large network of “local” news sites. But instead of reporting news, they mostly push Democratic talking points.
Even left-leaning outlets like The Washington Post have criticized Courier for running what is essentially a partisan operation disguised as journalism.
But the strategy is effective.
Polls show that Americans trust local news more than national news. By controlling local media, progressives gain an advantage in shaping public opinion – especially in battleground states like Nevada.
How the Left Uses Media to Shape Elections
The report makes one thing clear: the Left isn’t just building these media platforms for fun. They’re doing it to win elections.
And the bias isn’t just in what’s written, but what’s written ABOUT.
For example, progressive nonprofit ProPublica launched a series of investigations aimed squarely at conservative Supreme Court justices. Yet, they hardly ever investigated liberal justices.
In 2022, the Democratic National Committee even released a 5,000-word action plan detailing how to fight so-called “misinformation.” In reality, this plan aimed to silence conservative voices online, making sure social media algorithms favored liberal content.
Why? Because the goal isn’t fairness – it’s political warfare.
Nevada and the Local News Takeover
This battle isn’t just happening nationally. It’s also unfolding at the state level – including in Nevada.
The Nevada Current and the Nevada Independent – in addition to the relatively new Nevadan News (which is funded by Courier Newsroom) – present themselves as “neutral” but usually push Democrat-friendly narratives.
Meanwhile, conservative voices struggle to compete.
It’s harder to find a conservative news outlet in Nevada – of, by, and for conservatives – than it was for Joe Biden to find his Easter eggs!
If conservatives want to fight back – especially here in Nevada – they have a long way to go.
The Path Forward for Conservatives
So, what can Nevada conservatives do?
Well, many are “talking” about it. And then there’s Citizen Outreach Foundation, where we just gave our flagship news publication a major facelift and overhaul.
The new-and-improve Nevada News & Views – which had been laying pretty much dormant for years – was completely retooled and relaunched shortly after the November ’24 elections based on two huge developments…
1.) Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter
Twitter, now branded as “X,” and Musk’s subsequent conversion to the “right” side of the political aisle has been a game changer.
X is where a growing number of voters are going to get the news they won’t find in “oldstream” media.
Or as Elon himself so famously put it, “YOU are the media now.”
If you want to know what conservatives all across the country are talking about, reading about, and asking about . . . “X Marks the Spot.”
2.) AI – Artificial Intelligence
After ChatGPT was released two years ago, suddenly “everybody” became an expert on AI.
But the truth is, few really know and understand the power of this technology as it relates to political news reporting. We do.
Now, I’m a techno-troglodyte. Just seeing the word “algorithm” makes my head hurt and my eyes glaze over.
But I’ve been studying this AI technology and how it can be used in politics at the feet of a master marketer, Perry Belcher, for the past two-plus years.
And last September Perry explained how using various new AI tools could essentially produce an entire news site run by one or two people rather than a full newsroom of high-priced reporters, columnists, and editors.
And that’s exactly what we’ve done with Nevada News & Views.
Using various AI tools, we’re now producing solid, original articles on national, state, and local issues that conservatives are interested in.
We’re able to quickly analyze bills and legislation and generate news articles on them from the conservative perspective – in a fraction of time and with only a skeleton staff.
And now that the platform is built and established, we’re serving as a “soapbox” for other conservative voices – be they elected officials, candidates, or organization leaders and single-issue activists.
If you haven’t visited the site or signed up for our free daily email digest, just pop over to nevadanewsandviews.com and take a look.
And share with your friends and fellow conservatives. We have a journalism war to win!
Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach and publisher of Nevada News & Views.
