JusticeforBJS

I believe in independent media. We need more independent researchers and more independent voices, which is why I’ll always root for people doing this work outside the big outlets. That being said, the people doing this work have to genuinely care about the information they put out and about the people receiving it. Otherwise we’re no better than the media conglomerates people come to us to escape. The Leah Files just sent her midterm predictions to more than 41,000 subscribers, and I’m one of them. As I read through the post, I couldn’t help but notice her numbers were dramatically different from what I’d seen in the FEC filings this week. Her post is missing more than half of James Talarico’s fundraising. It ends by telling readers to look up everything on their ballot at her funding guide before they vote, and that guide says Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee “has reported raising nothing” when the FEC shows he’s raised $26.9 million. On top of that, her maps are missing states. New York and Rhode Island are gone, and “RC” isn’t a real state. They also list people who aren’t on the ballot. Oklahoma says “Nuzzell,” who isn’t running, and Florida says DeSantis, who’s term-limited. Indiana doesn’t even have a governor’s race this year, and it says “Britzker.” That’s especially dangerous with early voting already underway. When I asked her about it, she said it was published a few weeks ago, even though the post was only two hours old at the time. Then my note correcting her numbers was gone. And look, nobody expects any of us to be perfect. Digging through all of these files and keeping everything straight in your head is a really tough job, and I get that more than anyone. But telling your readers to use a website you made before they vote, when it’s full of outdated and wrong numbers, is where I draw the line. If independent media is going to be better than the outlets we’re pushing against, we have to get the facts right. FEC, Talarico fec.gov/data/candidate/S6TX0… FEC, Jackson fec.gov/data/candidate/S6ME0…