PopInfo Weekly: Fakes, falsehoods, and favors
Last week, Popular Information reported that a New York Post headline falsely claimed that “Thousands of 9/11 families demand Mamdani be banned from 25th-Anniversary.” But a Popular Information interview with the organizer of the petition revealed that this was false, and that there was not an actual list of family members who signed the petition. The media outlets that pushed the false narrative later tried to cover their tracks.
One of the outlets that published the New York Post’s false narrative was CBS News New York. But this week, CBS News New York aired a new segment highlighting people with family members who died on 9/11 “defending Mayor Mamdani’s inclusion in this year’s solemn remembrance ceremony.”
One Nation, an opaque nonprofit affiliated with Senate Republicans, spent $1.7 million in less than a week on a new ad attacking Senator Jon Ossoff (D). The ad received 78 million impressions across Georgia. But almost nothing in it is true. The ad attacks Ossoff for positions that have actually been pursued by Republicans, including cutting the child tax credit.
Popular Information uncovered a network of fake news sites created by One Nation, the Senate Republican dark money group. The sites target at least six states with key Senate races. While they claim to be “independent” news outlets, they produce partisan propaganda. One Nation is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on Meta promoting articles published on these sites that praise Republican Senate candidates or attack their Democratic rivals.
The best of the rest
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is quietly spending billions of dollars buying up private immigration detention centers. In July, CoreCivic announced that the government bought two of its centers for $1.5 billion. Sources told TIME that the plan “is for ICE to take over private detention facilities while building new ones alongside them.” (TIME)
Many sponsors of Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair did not properly disclose their donations, including Lockheed Martin, ExxonMobil, and UnitedHealth Group, a NOTUS analysis of federal lobbyist contribution reports found. This could violate federal lobbying law. (NOTUS)
For at least six months, Jennifer Mascott continued to run a D.C. public affairs firm after being appointed and confirmed as a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in October 2025. Judicial ethics experts said Mascott was operating in a gray area. The firm went out of business in June after hemorrhaging clients and staff. (Politico)
Last year, Trump signed into law a ban on intoxicating hemp products. Now, senators are working at the administration’s request to delay the ban from coming into effect. The son-in-law of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles stands to benefit. He is the CEO of companies that sell such hemp products. (New York Times)
Numerical information
6.81%: The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit its “highest level in over a year” last week.
350,000: The number of Haitian immigrants who lost their temporary protected status after a federal court ruling.
$275 billion: The total projected cost for 15 new “Trump-class” battleships. The price tag is 50 percent higher than the original government estimate.
Quote of the week
“When we go all the way back to 2015 and 2016, and people in the media looked at President Donald J. Trump, and everyone came out with allegations. Dozens of women, dozens of crazy allegations, dozens of nasty criminal misconduct [allegations]. And you know what he did? He stayed in the fight.”
–Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) when asked if he would drop out of his reelection race after domestic abuse allegations by his ex-wife.
Photo of the week
Miller's quote is a hoot.
"Many sponsors of Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair did not properly disclose their donations, including Lockheed Martin, ExxonMobil, and UnitedHealth Group, a NOTUS analysis of federal lobbyist contribution reports found. This could violate federal lobbying law. (NOTUS)"
Why should they? Laws are now broken by the federal government multiple times a day and Congress focuses on Fauci.