Michigan paper linked to Soros grant labels Senate candidate El-Sayed a veteran
Against the backdrop of the 2026 midterm cycle, a network of state-based newspapers with ties to Soros-linked funding has drawn fresh scrutiny in Michigan. The Michigan Independent, distributed across the state and carrying a…
Key takeaways
- The Michigan Independent ran an August 2026 headline calling Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a veteran, though El-Sayed has never served in the military and the article's own text made no such claim.
- The paper lists The American Independent Foundation at 800 Maine Ave SW in Washington, D.C. on its front cover, and that Foundation received a $500,000 grant in 2024 from George Soros' Foundation to Promote Open Society per its IRS 990 disclosure.
- The Michigan Independent is part of a twelve-state network reaching states including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia, Maine, and Alaska, with some outlets running identical articles.
- Each state site identifies as a project of American Independent Media, a 501(c)(4) that received $23.5 million in 2024 from American Bridge's AB Foundation, with David Brock connected to the network.
- El-Sayed's campaign condemned the headline, with spokesman Cole Wozniak saying El-Sayed has never claimed to be a veteran.
Against the backdrop of the 2026 midterm cycle, a network of state-based newspapers with ties to Soros-linked funding has drawn fresh scrutiny in Michigan. The Michigan Independent, distributed across the state and carrying a Washington, D.C. non-profit address on its front cover, ran an August 2026 headline calling Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a veteran. El-Sayed has never served in the military, and the article's own text contained no such claim.
Photos of the headline circulated on social media before Fox News Digital obtained a physical copy of the edition in Michigan. The paper lists The American Independent Foundation at 800 Maine Ave SW in Washington on its front cover. In 2024, that Foundation received a $500,000 grant from George Soros' Foundation to Promote Open Society, according to the organization's IRS 990 disclosure. The Washington Free Beacon first reported the funding connection.
El-Sayed holds an M.D. but has never practiced as a physician, Fox News Digital reported. His campaign condemned the headline. Spokesman Cole Wozniak said El-Sayed has never claimed to be a veteran and that any outlet covering the campaign should do its homework before publishing.
A twelve-state network in key midterm battlegrounds
The read-through for the broader cycle is sector-wide. Twelve state-based newspapers operate inside the same network, reaching Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia, Maine, and Alaska. Some carry identical articles: at the time of Fox News Digital's reporting, The Ohio Independent and The Pennsylvania Independent both featured the same piece on Trump administration oil policy and consumer pump prices.
Each state website identifies itself as a project of American Independent Media, a 501(c)(4) political activism organization that describes its mission as "to use journalism to educate the public, giving them the information they need about local and federal issues." American Bridge's 501(c)(4) arm, the AB Foundation, donated $23.5 million to American Independent Media in 2024. David Brock, founder of media watchdog Media Matters and of American Bridge, is also connected to the network.
The story was written by Alyssa Burr, whose LinkedIn page identifies her as Michigan Politics Reporter at The American Independent. She previously worked at MLive Media Group, publisher of Michigan Live, and before that at the New York Times. The American Independent did not return a request for comment.
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