Wisconsin
Polish Center says mystery Wisconsin newspaper made false claims
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Dressed up like a hometown newspaper, the Wisconsin Transcript landed in Milwaukee-area mailboxes this month with the Capitol dome on the cover and a slogan running across the top: “Local News. Community. Faith. Events.”
Inside is a claim the Polish Center of Wisconsin says is false.
The publication, dated Aug. 6, was sent out days before Wisconsin’s primary for governor. The pages are filled with mugshots from Wisconsin jails, stories about Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany criticizing his Democratic opponents, and an “immigration tracker” listing the organizations it says got the most federal resettlement money in Wisconsin.
Third on the list is the “Polish Community Center (Milwaukee),” at $3,096,927.
However, the Polish Center of Wisconsin said it has never received federal immigration funds and does not run a resettlement program. It knows of no other Milwaukee-area group by that name.
The center is owned by the Polish Heritage Alliance, a nonprofit built around Polish cultural events and education. The group put out a public statement Aug. 11 debunking the publication’s claims.
“We chose to address the claim proactively because we believe Wisconsin voters, our members, donors, and the broader community deserve access to accurate information,” spokeswoman Lauren Nitka Adeniyi told Public Investigator.
The Polish Center still doesn’t know who to contact about the error. No publishers or writers are named in the publication.
Who is behind the Wisconsin Transcript?
This isn’t the first Wisconsin mailer with a publisher nobody can pin down.
The Wisconsin Transcript resembles other mysterious publications mailed to residents in recent years that look like local newspapers but are thinly reported and promote Republican candidates.
Critics call the genre “pink slime” journalism, because the publications are designed to pass as independent local news. Papers like these usually contain no bylines or contact information and lean on politicians’ posts and press releases instead of original reporting.
In October 2024, Catholic leaders across several dioceses announced they had no connection to the Wisconsin Catholic Tribune, after copies of the right-wing mailer landed in Wisconsin mailboxes ahead of the November presidential election.
Also in October 2024, Waukesha County residents received a publication called the Waukesha Times designed to look like an actual newspaper. Several stories conveyed false information targeting Democrats.
Researchers traced both publications to Metric Media, a network running over 1,200 politically-backed news sites across the United States bankrolled by conservative donors.
The Wisconsin Transcript lists a return address at 2045 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago, the same address used by the Waukesha Times.
However, the address is a virtual mailbox shared by hundreds of unrelated businesses, not a newsroom. Unlike the Waukesha Times, Wisconsin Transcript doesn’t appear on Metric Media’s site and doesn’t appear to have a website at all.
Mailer includes stories about Tom Tiffany, immigration and crime
Several stories in the publication are focused on Tom Tiffany, the Republican congressman running for governor.
One covers his criticism of his Democratic opponents on immigration and criminal justice. Another is about an endorsement from the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs’ Association.
Caroline Briscoe, a campaign spokesperson, said Tiffany is not familiar with the Wisconsin Transcript and has never talked to the paper. The newspaper’s material was pulled from things Tiffany has already said publicly online, she said.
Other stories in the issue include a guide to green cards, a story on the Democratic Socialists of America’s role in Wisconsin politics, and a full page of local mugshots headlined “On the Wall.”
The mugshot page includes a note that the “Wisconsin Democratic Socialists of America” has called for abolishing the police and prison system.
Democratic Socialists of America has no statewide Wisconsin chapter. It organizes locally, with chapters in Milwaukee, Madison and northeast Wisconsin.
DSA’s national program does list abolishing police and prisons as a long-term goal. The immediate steps it lists are demilitarizing police departments and ending qualified immunity.
The other data in the Wisconsin Transcript’s “immigration tracker” also had issues.
There is no group called “Benevolent Community Services” in Madison, and the “Center for Veterans Issues” does not appear to operate out of Eau Claire. The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee does not offer any resettlement programs.
The Wisconsin Transcript implies that Wisconsin spent $158.7 million in taxpayer funds to re-settle 17,606 refugees in fiscal year 2024.
Records show the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement allocated Wisconsin about $4.4 million in Refugee Support Services funding for fiscal year 2024. That money went to the state, not directly to individual nonprofits. The allocation was based on 2,453 people served over the two prior fiscal years.
Misinformation experts said one way to check if a newspaper is valid is to look for real bylines on stories. If no reporter or publisher is listed, that’s a sign it could be a “pink slime” publication.
Another is to look at who pays for it. To check whether a news publication is funded by a political party, the Tow Center maintains a list of partisan news sites and newspapers here.
Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark.
Sophie Carson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
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A gas leak that occurred last month on Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline is the largest oil and gas spill reported in Wisconsin in more than 50 years, according to a WPR review of federal data.
WPR analyzed hazardous liquid accident data submitted to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and data submitted by Enbridge and its predecessor Lakehead Pipe Line Company since 1970.
Federal data indicates the Aug. 25 leak in Iron County that released 31,000 barrels — or 1.3 million gallons — of natural gas liquids is the company’s largest release reported to federal regulators. Line 5 remains shut down.
Enbridge has said the leak occurred after a subcontractor’s unoccupied flatbed truck rolled into an open excavation site for a Line 5 valve project, striking the pipeline and releasing mainly propane and butane into the atmosphere.
“The vast majority of the remaining two thousand barrels of liquid initially contained within the excavation site, have now also vaporized and dispersed. Today crews continue working on removing the remaining liquid from the trench,” said Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner in a statement.
Environmental groups are urging the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to do more in response to the spill, including demands for an independent investigation and revocation of permits for Enbridge’s $1 billion reroute of Line 5. Evan Feinauer, senior staff attorney for Clean Wisconsin, said he hopes the agency is actively exploring its options.
“The number of issues have now started to add up to a point where it’s problematic and concerning about what are other issues that are going to happen as they continue construction, both at the valve site where they had the leak and the other areas as well as on the reroute itself,” Feinauer told WPR.
On Friday, the National Wildlife Federation was among nine groups that called on the state to revoke permits for Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute in a letter to Gov. Tony Evers, the DNR and other state agencies.
“We call on Governor Evers to use the authority he already has,” the letter states.
The governor’s office referred questions to the DNR, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Groups also said the state must ensure the National Transportation Safety Board is involved rather than solely Enbridge or PHMSA, which is investigating the incident.
PHMSA has issued a corrective action order to Enbridge that requires the company to submit the failed section of pipe to a third-party lab for mechanical and metallurgical testing. Enbridge must also submit a third-party analysis on the cause of the line’s failure and whether similar conditions exist elsewhere on Line 5.
An NTSB spokesperson said it doesn’t appear the agency is investigating the incident at this time, noting the NTSB does not investigate every pipeline leak or explosion.
Environmental advocates also want to see state agencies have a more active role in air, water and groundwater monitoring at the site.
In an update, Enbridge said soil and water monitoring plans are in place in addition to plans for testing and properly disposing of soil. The company has said sampling of surface water and a nearby residential well showed no impacts from the leak, and monitoring wells have also been installed at the site. Monitoring has also shown safe air quality outside the evacuation area.
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DNR Secretary Karen Hyun has told WPR and PBS Wisconsin that the agency has not yet been granted permission to access the site by PHMSA due to safety concerns. Beth Wallace, Great Lakes Climate and Energy Director with the National Wildlife Federation, said it’s “unheard of” that state agencies can’t access the site.
“We have major concerns that there may be an effort to preempt state oversight in this moment, and spill response absolutely requires state authorities to be part of the unified command,” Wallace told WPR.
Enbridge is now working on building a 1,500-ft long temporary bypass around the leak with a goal of restoring the pipeline to operation by Sept. 12. Wallace questioned whether an emergency order or approvals have been issued and by which agencies, adding the pipeline should remain shutdown until an investigation is done.
At least five releases of drilling fluid have occurred on the Line 5 reroute after another frac-out occurred on Sept. 2. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported 100 gallons was released as the company drilled under the Potato River. Up to 1,900 gallons spilled during similar drilling in late June.
Line 5 typically carries up to 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids daily from Superior to Sarnia, Ontario.
Enbridge has been building a new 41-mile segment of the 73-year-old pipeline around the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The tribe and environmental groups have mounted legal challenges against state approvals for the project.
In 2020, Enbridge proposed the reroute after the Bad River tribe sued the company in 2019 to shut down and remove Line 5 from tribal lands where Enbridge lacked easements for the pipeline.
Three years ago, a federal judge found the company was trespassing and ordered Enbridge to pay roughly $5 million and shut down or reroute Line 5. The tribe and Enbridge appealed the decision. In August, a federal appeals panel ruled that Enbridge has been trespassing and must remove the pipeline from the Bad River reservation. However, it gave the company more time to complete the Line 5 reroute.
The company has completed construction on roughly two-thirds of the project, which employs around 700 workers.
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