A new level of dishonesty: Mailers targeting NC Democrats photoshop the truth

Political advertisements, most of the time, should not be taken at face value. They habitually omit important context and contain truths that have been watered down into lies. And, in some cases, they simply invent things out of thin air.

Mailers recently distributed in several competitive North Carolina House districts feature deceptively edited photos of Democratic candidates, tying them to the “defund the police” movement and Black Lives Matter protests.

One particular mailer was shared on Twitter this week by state Sen. Jeff Jackson, who called a “comically dishonest political attack.” The mailer features a photo of Rep. Ricky Hurtado, a Democrat who represents Alamance County, wearing a T-shirt that says “defund the police.”

Whoever designed the mailer clearly knows their way around Photoshop, because that photo of Hurtado doesn’t actually exist. What does exist is a photo of Hurtado wearing a campaign T-shirt while participating in a trash pickup event in his district. That photo was manipulated in the mailer, which blasted Hurtado for his record on crime.

In Pitt County, voters received a nearly identical mailer targeting Democratic Rep. Brian Farkas. The front of the mailer has a photo of Farkas holding a “defund the police” sign. (It’s an edited photo of Farkas holding one of his campaign signs outside a polling place.) The back of the mailer shows Farkas smiling and waving as protesters march by, with the text “State Representative Brian Farkas stood with rioters, not us.” That photo was taken from a December 2021 Facebook post of Farkas attending a local Christmas parade.

Hurtado and Farkas, both of whom were first elected in 2020, are seeking re-election in competitive districts that just barely lean Democratic. Their seats are among a handful of districts that will likely determine whether Republicans gain a supermajority in the North Carolina legislature. Other Democrats in close races, including Rep. Terence Everitt of Wake County, have also been targeted by these misleading mailers.

The mailers cite a pledge signed by Hurtado, Farkas and other North Carolina Democrats in 2018 and 2020 to allege that Democrats are soft on crime or don’t support law enforcement. Republicans have repeatedly used that pledge to accuse Democrats of wanting to defund the police — though the pledge never mentioned anything about funding for law enforcement when they signed it, according to a 2020 fact-check.

The mailers, which were shared with the Editorial Board, say they were paid for by Carolina Leadership Coalition, a nonprofit organization that has received scrutiny for its close ties to the House Republican Caucus and House Speaker Tim Moore. The News & Observer previously reported that the coalition uses the same businesses as House Republicans to raise money and produce campaign ads. The Editorial Board contacted the House Republican Caucus to ask if equally manipulated or false ads have been distributed by Democrats, but did not immediately receive a response.

Slamming Democrats for their record on crime and public safety has been a key strategy for Republicans nationwide. In North Carolina’s Senate race, Ted Budd and his fellow Republicans have launched misleading attacks against Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley for her supposedly weak record on violent crime as a judge. Some of those ads were pulled from local TV stations and other media outlets because they contained false statements. Republicans have also accused Beasley of wanting to defund the police — though Beasley herself has publicly stated that she does not support the movement.

Both Democrats and Republicans have long tiptoed around the truth on the campaign trail, and it’s something we’ve reluctantly come to accept as inevitable. Truthfulness in political advertisements might be too much to ask for, but these mailers take dishonesty to a new and different level. Manufacturing the truth — or, in this case, photoshopping it — should never be acceptable. Voters deserve better than lies and manipulation, especially from the people who want to represent them.

This story was originally published September 28, 2022 at 2:20 PM.