Chuck Darwin<p>With a classic typeface and traditional newspaper design, <br>the mass-mailed "Catholic Tribune"<br>newspapers carry signposts of legitimacy. </p><p>But most of the articles in the papers are inflammatory <br>and overtly partisan, <br>focusing on culture-war issues that resonate with conservative voters.</p><p>A headline in the Wisconsin Catholic Tribune, and repurposed in other states’ versions, <br>provocatively asks, <br>“How many ‘sex change’ mutilation surgeries occurred on Wisconsin kids?” </p><p>Another: “Haitian illegal aliens in America: What are Harris supporters saying?”</p><p>At the same time, they undermine Vice President Kamala Harris and prop up former President Donald Trump.</p><p>The papers, which have also appeared in Arizona and Pennsylvania, <br>are what academics call “pink slime.” </p><p>The name comes from a filler in processed meat <br>— or a product that is not entirely what it seems.</p><p>Using tax documents and business filings, <br>ProPublica traced the papers to a Chicago-based publishing network led by former TV reporter <a href="https://c.im/tags/Brian" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Brian</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Timpone" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Timpone</span></a>. </p><p>His enterprises, including "Metric Media", are known among researchers for peddling misinformation and slanted coverage. </p><p>The network has received money from right-wing super PACs funded by conservative billionaire <a href="https://c.im/tags/Richard" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Richard</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Uihlein" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Uihlein</span></a>, <br>founder of the mammoth shipping supply company Uline.</p><p>The Catholic Church does not endorse candidates or call for their defeat <br>but does speak out on moral issues and participates in debates over public policies. <br>Many dioceses publish newspapers, but they are not partisan.</p><p>In distancing itself from the Michigan Catholic Tribune, <br>the Archdiocese of Detroit noted that tax-exempt churches are not permitted under the Internal Revenue Code to be involved in partisan politics. </p><p>The Archdiocese of Milwaukee directed Catholics to a Wisconsin Catholic Conference document setting out guidelines for church involvement in electoral politics.</p><p>In an era of prolific “pink slime” sites, sophisticated, AI-concocted fakes and outlandish conspiracy theories engulfing social media, the papers are a throwback to a low-tech disinformation tactic.</p><p>But they are not unusual in the Metric Media universe. </p><p>ProPublica, in collaboration with the nonprofit news organization Floodlight and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, recently reported on a <br>misinformation campaign against solar energy in Ohio aided by Metric Media <br>that included distribution of a similar unfamiliar newspaper, <br>the Ohio Energy Reporter. </p><p>It has the same mailing address as the Catholic Tribune papers.</p><p>Metric Media and its sister companies operate more than 1,100 local news websites across the country. </p><p>The return address for the Michigan and Wisconsin Catholic Tribunes matches the business mailing address of companies within the Metric Media network, ProPublica found.</p><p>Timpone, who lives in Illinois and has contributed to conservative campaigns and causes, leads Metric Media. </p><p>His brother, Michael Timpone, also leads a media company at the address listed on the Catholic Tribune papers, <br>and he led the Metric Media affiliate that published similar papers in previous election cycles. </p><p>Michael Timpone also did not respond to a request for comment.<br><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/church-no-affiliation-catholic-tribune-metric-media" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">propublica.org/article/church-</span><span class="invisible">no-affiliation-catholic-tribune-metric-media</span></a></p>