Courier Newsroom, a George Soros-funded network that pushes Democratic talking points masquerading as journalism, is expanding its operations in an attempt to affect the 2024 election.
Courier on Monday will announce "a new slate of national contributors and newsletters, video series, op-eds, and podcasts" to spread pro-Democrat messaging, Semafor reported.
The network, founded by Democratic operative Tara McGowan, has faced extensive criticism for disguising its "fake news" websites and mailers as legitimate publications with names such as the Iowa Starting Line and the Pennsylvania Keystone. A correspondent for the nonpartisan media watchdog NewsGuard in 2020 called Courier "hyperlocal partisan propaganda" that has "deceived" readers, comparing the network's articles to "conspiracy theories or outright lies."
Courier pays for its operations through massive donations from left-wing billionaires, including Soros, who in 2021 gave nearly $1.2 million to the network, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Soros and fellow Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman are also backing Good Information Inc., Courier's parent company.
The network was originally owned by ACRONYM, a Democratic dark money group cofounded by McGowan and backed by billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs. ACRONYM divested its stake in 2021, following criticism.
Former ACRONYM spokesman Kyle Tharp will lead Courier's "new slate" of contributors, which will also include former Media Matters fellow Melissa Ryan and self-described "race and inequality" correspondent Michael Jones, Semafor reported.
Courier may need an influx of new contributors. Numerous former employees last year posted online comments that described McGowan as "a 'soap opera villainess' whose rudderless incompetence and 'constant gaslighting' are driving employees insane," the Free Beacon reported.
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