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With a classic typeface and traditional newspaper design,
the mass-mailed "Catholic Tribune"
newspapers carry signposts of legitimacy.

But most of the articles in the papers are inflammatory
and overtly partisan,
focusing on culture-war issues that resonate with conservative voters.

A headline in the Wisconsin Catholic Tribune, and repurposed in other states’ versions,
provocatively asks,
“How many ‘sex change’ mutilation surgeries occurred on Wisconsin kids?”

Another: “Haitian illegal aliens in America: What are Harris supporters saying?”

At the same time, they undermine Vice President Kamala Harris and prop up former President Donald Trump.

The papers, which have also appeared in Arizona and Pennsylvania,
are what academics call “pink slime.”

The name comes from a filler in processed meat
— or a product that is not entirely what it seems.

Using tax documents and business filings,
ProPublica traced the papers to a Chicago-based publishing network led by former TV reporter #Brian #Timpone.

His enterprises, including "Metric Media", are known among researchers for peddling misinformation and slanted coverage.

The network has received money from right-wing super PACs funded by conservative billionaire #Richard #Uihlein,
founder of the mammoth shipping supply company Uline.

The Catholic Church does not endorse candidates or call for their defeat
but does speak out on moral issues and participates in debates over public policies.
Many dioceses publish newspapers, but they are not partisan.

In distancing itself from the Michigan Catholic Tribune,
the Archdiocese of Detroit noted that tax-exempt churches are not permitted under the Internal Revenue Code to be involved in partisan politics.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee directed Catholics to a Wisconsin Catholic Conference document setting out guidelines for church involvement in electoral politics.

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.

But they are not unusual in the Metric Media universe.

ProPublica, in collaboration with the nonprofit news organization Floodlight and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, recently reported on a
misinformation campaign against solar energy in Ohio aided by Metric Media
that included distribution of a similar unfamiliar newspaper,
the Ohio Energy Reporter.

It has the same mailing address as the Catholic Tribune papers.

Metric Media and its sister companies operate more than 1,100 local news websites across the country.

The return address for the Michigan and Wisconsin Catholic Tribunes matches the business mailing address of companies within the Metric Media network, ProPublica found.

Timpone, who lives in Illinois and has contributed to conservative campaigns and causes, leads Metric Media.

His brother, Michael Timpone, also leads a media company at the address listed on the Catholic Tribune papers,
and he led the Metric Media affiliate that published similar papers in previous election cycles.

Michael Timpone also did not respond to a request for comment.
https://www.propublica.org/article/church-no-affiliation-catholic-tribune-metric-media