February 14, 2012 06:58 PM UTC

Attention Fake Reporters: Put Up Your Fake News Site First

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Some time after this post went up (see our screenshot), so did The Colorado Observer! Sorry if we abbreviated anybody’s deadlines, that can really suck.

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A very brief note as operatives of all stripes come up with their latest bright ideas for the coming election season. We’ve received word of a new “news organization” making the rounds in the last few days, the latest in a significant number of such web properties that have sprung up recently–usually run by GOP staffers with names you can either recognize or Google right up. In the 2008 and to a lesser extent 2010 election seasons, we saw a similar explosion of new “independent” blogs and alleged news sites run by conservatives, most of whom disappeared right after.

Case in point for this morning is Tyler Sandberg, formerly an organizer with Jane Norton’s U.S. Senate primary campaign. Only this election, Tyler’s not working for a Republican candidate–he’s the “political correspondent” for something called The Colorado Observer!

Kind of like an actual journalist would, Sandberg is now sending out very reporterly-sounding emails identifying himself as “working on an article for The Colorado Observer,” and asking a question that sounds very, very suspiciously like it’s meant to facilitate a Republican talking point. Now even for a green political staffer, the fact that neither this guy’s name nor his publication in any way spark recollection should set off some alarm bells. But if that doesn’t, try visiting the website Tyler’s email points to–thecoloradoobserver.com:

So here are the lessons of this story, as clear as we can make them:

1. Easily identifiable GOP staffers do not transition well to fake journalism (see: Google),

2. If GOP staffers attempt fake journalism anyway, be somewhat subtle with your questions, and

3. Put up your fake news website before you send emails requesting GOP-friendly quotes.

The first two let you know what’s going on. The third is proof that they aren’t very good at it.