We call on all voters in the South Valley to reject such deceitful tactics.
This editorial is the opinion of Morgan Hill Life
Using the cover of the free press to unfairly and untruthfully attack political opponents has been part of democracy since the founding of the American republic. It is an ugly and dangerous tradition in every election since the contentious one of 1800.
This shameful misuse of the media, including print publication, to spread propaganda and fictitious news with an aim to sway voters continues in Santa Clara County. We saw it recently trying to impact the recent March 5 election when a 24-page publication called The South Bay Chronicle was distributed to homes throughout Congressional District 18, which includes San Martin, Gilroy and Morgan Hill.
Pretending to be a “newspaper” with its tabloid-sized layout and news-style fonts and headlines, it actually served as a platform for propaganda targeting District 18’s race for a House seat. It attacked incumbent Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat, with sensational articles while giving favorable press to candidate Charlene Nijmeh, also a Democrat and a Morgan Hill resident.
Matthew Ricchiazzi published this fake newspaper. He personally paid to print 60,000 copies and distribute them. He declined to talk to us by phone but told us by email he intended to put out another issue. He also told us he never told Nijmeh and her campaign staff about his publication plans.
Ricchiazzi wrote, “I have no formal role on the campaign, though I do volunteer to help out when I can.”
Nijmeh serves as chairperson of the Muwekma Ohlone. In the past, Ricchiazzi has worked for the tribe as a consultant. Her husband, Kennedy Nijmeh, told us Ricchiazzi is not associated with the campaign.
Charlene answered our questions by email, saying, “I first heard about the paper being distributed when Shira Stein from the SF Chronicle sent me an email. My initial reaction was confusion. I didn’t know what she was referring to and after a relative sent me a picture of the front page, my first thought was the headlines looked like a National Enquirer magazine.”
This is not the first time Ricchiazzi has abused the First Amendment right of the free press. In January 2023, the San Francisco Chronicle published a story exposing the political consultant as the creator of a fake news website called The San Francisco Inquirer. Still in operation, it posts politically-focused stories with sensationalized slants such as attack stories on Lofgren, blaming her for sex trafficking among other things.
We visited the Inquirer’s website Feb. 22 and saw its slogan proclaims: “A bold tradition of truth telling.” Its lead story that day had the headline: “Lofgren’s attacks on Nijmeh backfire, as voters flock to read ‘The South Bay Chronicle’.” That story had no byline. Real journalism includes possessing the courage to tell readers who investigated and reported the story.
Click HERE to read Charlene Nijmeh’s state about The South Bay Chronicle fake newspaper
The print version of the Chronicle lacked bylines on all stories and had no masthead listing an editor, publisher, office address, website or contact information. That’s a big warning sign of a fake newspaper.
We found examples of Ricchiazzi conducting media abuses in New York state. In 2019 in The Buffalo Chronicle, he posted false stories alleging Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used bribery to quash a sex scandal as well as other unproven accusations.
Ricchiazzi told us he has been publishing local newsprints since 2010. “Independent citizen journalism is a hobby of mine,” he wrote in his email. “When I come across a deeply compelling story that I feel is important to the public discourse, I take it to print. It’s how I participate in our democracy.”
Journalism is not a hobby. It’s a vocation dedicated to telling readers the truth about their community and leaders. Putting out propaganda and attacking an opponent’s character with outright fabrications and misleading stories goes against the very ideals of our democracy. Yet this seems to be the deliberate strategy of The South Bay Chronicle.
Throughout our nation’s history, people seeking political power have abused the freedom of the press. That endangers our republic. We call on all voters in the South Valley to reject such deceitful tactics. No healthy democracy can function on lies.
