• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, August 15, 2016

If you opened your door, looked down, and found a new newspaper that you’d never heard of before and never subscribed to, containing only stories about how bad your local council member or state senator is, coincidentally just a few months before the election, would you A) throw it away, B) use it to clean up after your dog, or C) read it attentively and base your vote on it?

Apparently, a good number of people out there would choose the last option, as this tactic is a perennial favorite of shady local political campaigns across the U.S. The latest example comes from Illinois, where a political fundraising organization created by conservative talk show host and former gubernatorial candidate Dan Proft is distributing a number of fake newspapers to promote Republican candidates for state senate.

Proft’s Liberty Principles PAC has produced several editions of the fictitious newspapers, with plausible names like the Chambana Sun, DuPage Policy Journal, East Central Reporter, Kankakee Times, Lake County Gazette, McHenry Times, Metro East Sun, North Cook News, Rock Island Today, Sangamon Sun, SW Illinois News, West Central Reporter, and West Cook News.

These publications primarily contain sympathetic interviews with the local GOP candidates as well as articles attacking their Democratic opponents.

The Illinois State Board of Elections has issued a finding that the fake newspapers violate the state’s election laws, which forbid so-called “Independent Expenditure” PACs from colluding with political campaigns. The newspapers also run afoul of the Campaign Disclosure Act, which requires all paid political advertisements to identify themselves as such.

Separately, the Illinois Press Association issued a statement warning readers about the practice of publishing political ad masquerading as newspapers, adding: “While imitation is the highest form of flattery, the IPA cautions readers to become as news literate as possible; that is, to try to determine the source behind the news and information they receive and to question the legitimacy, integrity and intent of both the source and the message.”

One politician on the receiving end of the newspaper attacks, Illinois state senator Melinda Bush, stated: “These fake newspapers are part of a deceitful and possibly illegal campaign by a special interest group to push a political agenda and mislead Lake County residents…

"Laws that forbid coordination between super PAC’s and candidates ensure that there is no undue influence by specia-iinterest groups on our elections. Disclosure laws are designed to ensure accountability. By continuing to release their fake newspapers, this super PAC has misled the public, made this election less transparent and possibly continued to break the law.”