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‘That’s the activity of a Super Pac’: WaPo accused of running deceivingly biased ad on X

August 20, 2024 | | Print Article

Concerns over potential “in-kind contributions” from the Washington Post spread as users picked up on the evident slant of an ad on social media.

“That’s not the activity of a media organization. That’s the activity of a Super Pac.”

(Video Credit: Fox News)

The Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper that fancies the motto “Democracy Dies in Darkness” had a light shined on its recent advertisement activity revealing a telling trend in political bias. With watchdogs remaining alert to funny business heading toward Election Day, content appearing to favor Vice President Kamala Harris had even Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance invoking the FEC.

“You’ll see The Washington Post pay for advertisements for stories that attack me and attack Donald J. Trump,” the former president’s running mate said during a Thursday appearance on “The Ingraham Angle.

After Fox News host Laura Ingraham had broached the matter of manipulated Google ads from the Harris-Walz campaign, Vance went on to assert, “That’s not the activity of a media organization. That’s the activity of a Super Pac. And I hope the FEC looks into it.”

A number of users had called out the particular stories getting monetized as ads from the Post that included an op-ed from President Joe Biden, a puff piece on Harris, talk of “controversial past comments” from Vance, and even a swipe at his wife, Usha Vance, suggesting she “found Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 ‘deeply disturbing,’ a friend said.”

“Is the @washingtonpost going to register with the FEC to run ads like this?” asked GOP strategist Matt Whitlock. “What is this ridiculous promotion of Biden’s desperate and stupid court-packing plan? You can’t even argue this is good for WaPo business because a boring op-ed isn’t driving new subscribers.”

Likewise, the GOP leader’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tacked onto a post slighting Vance with a pro-Harris ad he captioned, “While the @washingtonpost is spending thousands of dollars running paid ads attacking JD Vance, they’re also running positive ads promoting Kamala Harris. How is this any different than a Super PAC? The Washington Post should be forced to register with the @FEC. So corrupt!!!”

Meanwhile, Fox News Digital reported that, according to a source familiar with the matter, “high-performing posts shared on X by the Post are later promoted as ads. The paper’s far-left readership is likely driving the partisan nature of its ads.”

Concern over the newspaper’s actions comes amid reports that the Harris campaign had been “editing news headlines and descriptions within Google search ads that make it appear as if the Guardian, Reuters, CBS News, and other major publishers are on her side.”

“They’re obviously worried about their internal polls,” argued Ingraham after remarking that the ads were not a new matter. “That’s obvious to me tonight. But this is a sign to me of, not strength, but real desperation on their part that this is what they have to do.”

Vance agreed before he went on to state, “We know that we are playing in a broken, fundamentally unfair game. But we also know that we’re doing this for the American people.”

Kevin Haggerty
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