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What is ‘pink slime’ journalism?
“Pink slime” journalism is named after a meat byproduct and describes outlets that publish poor quality reports that appear to be local news.
- In the past decade, many local news sites have either gone out of business or are struggling to survive, and pink slime sites have replaced them.
- These outlets claim to cover local and hyperlocal news, sometimes taking advantage of news deserts.
- Pink slime sites are frequently produced via automation and templates. Look for text that’s more generic than expected, or articles that are pure information without context — that’s a giveaway you’re looking at a pink slime website.
- Often, they’re funded by outside companies with a partisan source of financing.
How can I spot it?
It takes a critical eye to spot these websites out in the wild. Here’s how to figure out if what you’re reading comes from a legitimate news site or a pink slime site, from MediaWise:
[Read more from MediaWise: ‘Journalistic meat or fraudulent filler’ – What is pink slime journalism?]
- First, do some lateral reading to investigate whether the site is trustworthy. Find out who runs the outlet and look into their political tendencies. A hallmark of good journalism is objectivity, so if the site is pushing an agenda, it is probably not legit.
- Read the “About” page and try to figure out who funds the site. Does the money come from a source that is pushing a particular point-of-view? Always question sites that are sketchy about where their money comes from. A credible news source is always transparent about its funding.
- See if any fact-checkers, such as PolitiFact, Snopes or other reputable sources have said anything about the site’s legitimacy.
