Abstract
Increasing numbers of websites in the United States spread politically conservative propaganda while masquerading as legitimate digital local news outlets. How are these sites attempting to broadcast their ideology and shape readers’ understanding? In this research note, we analyze an original dataset comprising 122,054 articles from propagandistic websites and 90,689 articles from the websites of corresponding institutional local news organizations. The results suggest that the doppelgänger sites use three strategies: copy locally relevant text available online, such as summaries of gasoline prices and press releases; seize on national political controversies; and deploy emotions in ways that can entice moderate readers to further engage the sites. In addition, a supplemental analysis indicates that conservative propagandists also embed subtle, implicit pro-business rhetoric into mundane articles about state and local economic policy. We conclude by highlighting directions for further research on locally tailored digital conservative propaganda.
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