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I can only hope The Independent is the worst newspaper in California because I hate to think of another town subjected to even more bias.
The October 13th article “Who’s Funding the Candidates” highlighted the top donors to John Marchand, Evan Branning and Mel Chiong. However, when it came to Mony Nop, Carol Wahrer and Ben Barrientos, the data was cherry-picked for small-dollar donations.
This was done to hide the fact these latter candidates are supported in large part by an out-of-town billionaire, Jean King and Joan Seppala, who owns The Independent.
Plutocrats King and Seppala also fund over 90% of many local special-interest groups, such as Take Back Livermore. The Independent refers to those organizations as “grassroots,” which is the opposite of true.
The greatest lie I have seen Seppala print was a front-page article from April 2021 titled “Save Livermore Downtown Presents Findings for Eden Housing Downtown Alternative.” It validated the deceptive talking points of another special-interest group, funded by Seppala of course. The “Downtown Alternative” was smoke and mirrors, to trick residents into opposing affordable housing during a housing crisis. Of course, full-page ads of Seppala’s groups in her newspaper are paid for by her and also push her agenda.
Truth no longer seems to be a priority of this paper, only power. The Independent is not independent of the owner’s politics, and Joan Seppala uses it as a weekly propaganda leaflet, mailed to residents whether they ask for it or not. Most damning, regular readers are less likely to be well-informed of critical local news, rather than more, unless they restrict their attention to the sports section.
Editor's note: Send your opinions on Livermore topics to editor@livermorevine.com. All submissions will undergo editorial review and must include author's full name.
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