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In December, My Neighborhood News Group reporter Angelica Relente wrote about Edmonds-based travel guide and philanthropist Rick Steves and his purchase of the Lynnwood Hygiene Center building. Relente researched the story, did the interviews, wrote the initial story and the followup.
Imagine her surprise when her story ended up on the Valley Vanguard site on Monday, Jan. 5 with this “photo” of Rick Steves.
Of course, this isn’t Rick Steves, so it got us wondering, who is this reporter and why didn’t he use an accurate photo of Rick Steves?
This story is an example of a “pink slime” news site. The Sno-Isle Libraries system is familiar with it. It’s click bait, a way to serve up ads and, on occasion, disinformation. It’s referred to as “pink slime” because pink slime is a meat byproduct that is similar to, but not actually, meat.
“Fake news often works by mimicking legitimate news outlets, using emotional or sensational headlines, or presenting opinions as facts,” said David Durante, deputy director of Sno-Isle Libraries.
In this case, that legitimate news organization is My Neighborhood News Group and Rick Steves is a person our community has a connection with.
“One of our core roles [at the Sno-Isle Libraries] is helping people learn how to find reliable sources, ask good questions and think critically about the information they encounter,” Durante said.
Things to look for:
Look at the pictures and captions. Does it seem right? In this case, that is not Rick Steves.
Go to the “About Us” page at the bottom of the site. Where is the news organization based? In the case of the Valley Vanguard, it is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Why would a news organization based in Ann Arbor do this story about an event in Lynnwood?)
Look further at the address. It lists the country as États-Unis, which is French for the United States. Further scrolling through the site reveals that the ads are in French.
According to the Valley Vanguard site, the story was “written by Michael Thompson,” a reporter with 10 years of journalism experience.
He also recently wrote a story about a man with a tooth implanted in his eye. Does that seem probable?
Look at the comments. The comments for this story were the same theme, the same language. None of the commenters had a photo or even an avatar associated with their name. We looked at other comments on other stories.They are exactly the same style.
Other things to keep in mind when researching the credibility of a news organization, according to Durante:
- Look for multiple, credible sources reporting the same information.
- Be cautious of headlines designed to provoke strong emotional reactions.
- Pay attention to dates, author names and whether sources are clearly cited.
- When in doubt, pause before sharing.
Pink slime sites
The Pima County (AZ) Library’s Information Integrity Team, which covers disinformation for the purpose of educating citizens, reports that pink slime sites vastly outnumbered legitimate journalism sites by mid-2024. These sites take the place of legitimate news organizations which, due to financial pressures, have closed in smaller communities in the last five years.
These communities are now “news deserts,” a term to describe communities without a legitimate news organization. The fake sites step in to fill the gap.
“Fake news and misinformation are not new, but they have become more common and more sophisticated in the digital age. Information spreads quickly online, and it can be difficult for people to know what sources to trust or how to evaluate what they are seeing,” Durante said.
The Sno-Isle Library system provided a curated resource list for readers to help find reliable information using critical thinking.
Why this matters to the community
“This issue is important to My Neighborhood News Group – My Edmonds News, My Lynnwood News and My MLT News because of our role in our community,” said MNNG President and CEO Teresa Wippel. “We are a legitimate news organization. We have an “About Us” page where you can learn about our reporters.
“Our reporters are in the field covering stories, and you can talk to them at any time,” Wippel added. “We have an editorial team that makes daily decisions and a board of directors that provides oversight and advice. We also belong to national news organizations like the Local Independent Online News Association and the Institute for Nonprofit News – which have rigorous membership standards aimed at ensuring that members are following trusted journalistic principles.”
“We encourage our readers to be careful consumers of news and consider the source of any information they are reading. We are committed to providing trusted community news – something we have been doing for more than 16 years,” Wippel said.
Editor’s note: After publishing this article, we learned that the Vanguard has since updated its story and has included a photo of the “real” Rick Steves. Additionally, after a diligent reverse image search for the story’s “experienced reporter,” we found no online presence for him.
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