COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The inflammatory language targeting a reproductive rights measure on Ohio’s fall ballot is the type of messaging that is common in the closing weeks of a highly contested initiative campaign — warning of “abortion on demand” or “dismemberment of fully conscious children” if voters approve it.
Only the messaging isn’t just coming from the anti-abortion groups that oppose the constitutional amendment. It’s being promoted on the official government website of the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate.
And because the source is a government website, the messaging is being prioritized in online searches for information about Issue 1, the question going before Ohio voters Nov. 7 to enshrine abortion access in the state Constitution.
The “On The Record” blog on the state Senate website is billed as an “online newsroom” presenting “the views the news excludes.” It features attacks against Ohio news outlets, op-ed style columns by Republican state senators and content generated by members of the Senate majority’s communications staff and other noted conservatives.
……..
A detailed analysis of “On The Record” by a group supporting the constitutional amendment shows “no distinguishable difference” between the blog and the Senate site, meaning they use the same resources.
Britt Bischoff, chief growth officer for Red Wine & Blue, a progressive women’s organization, said the group has been trying to outcompete misinformation around issue 1 with its own messages, but the weight given to government websites in searches makes it difficult to counter the messages spread through “On the Record.”
“While Google has been responsive in removing some results for search terms where (misinformation posts) have been flagged, it’s not 100%, and there are hundreds of search terms this page is targeting that deliberately targets questions around Issue 1 with intentional attempts to spread political ideologies in positions of authority,” Bischoff’s analysis determined.
Google did not return an email message seeking comment about its search priorities.
Fortney pushed back against the criticism. He said the op-ed style pieces are “clearly opinion,” though nowhere are they marked as such, and that “On The Record” is intended to promote the views of Senate Republicans that, in many cases, Ohio media outlets have refused to publish.
Read the complete article at apnews.com