On the same day that former President Donald Trump came to Aurora and dropped mind-boggling misinformation about immigrants in Colorado (e.g., Aurora has been “invaded and conquered”), The Denver Gazette released five Facebook advertisements promoting some of the same exaggerations and falsehoods that the former president did — and generally supporting the climate of anti-immigrant hysteria that Trump is fomenting in his presidential campaign.
The Gazette released these five ads on Friday:
- “A violent turf war among Venezuelan gang members erupted in Colorado, leading to alarming car thefts, assaults, and home invasions. Read the full story. Venezuelan gang members in Colorado terrorized each other in violent turf war, arrest records say“
- “Venezuelan gang timeline details their takeover of Aurora apartment complexes and the violence that has rocked the community. Read more to uncover the facts. Timeline of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Colorado.” (Gangs did not take over multiple apartment complexes. The article linked in the ad was posted back on Sept. 4, and information in it, much of it relying on a law firm’s report, has been debunked by city officials, police, and migrants.)
- “Two Venezuelan brothers intimidated other immigrants with guns, threats, according to police documents. Read more below. Brothers believed to be Venezuelan gang members terrorized Aurora apartments.”
- Emails reveal Aurora boarded up an apartment complex to help the owner reclaim it from Venezuelan gang. Dive into the full story. Aurora shut down apartment complex so owner could take control of building from Venezuelan gang, letters suggest.” (This Sept. 23 article promotes the falsehood that gangs took control of apartment buildings in Aurora.)
- “At the Aurora Trump rally, mugshots of alleged Venezuelan gang members put the focus on crime and immigration. Trump campaign displays mugs of alleged Venezuelan gang members in Aurora rally.”
None of the ads that the Gazette chose to promote on the day Trump came to town focuses on debunking Trump’s misinformation about Venezuelan gangs. None of the ads are about city officials or advocates decrying Trump’s lies. Instead, the ads advance Republican election themes about immigration and gangs in Aurora.
Including the ads published Friday, the Gazette has 25 active ads on Facebook. Seven advertisements promote the newspaper directly (e.g., “Start Your Day With Denver Gazette“). Eight are about Venezuelan gangs or immigration (e.g., “Brothers Believed to Be Venezuelan Gang Members Terrorized Aurora Apartments”), four about sports (e.g., “New Nuggets Guard Russell Westbrook Is Here To Kick Butt, and He Can Start With Jamal Murray), two about crime (“Police Searching for 3 Suspects in Arapahoe County Attempted Murder, Robbery”), one about the expectations for the Trump rally, one about homelessness, one about the Colorado Trail, and one for the Flying Resort and Club. Seventeen of the active ads were launched in October, five in September, two in August, and one in January 2022.
Few of the Gazette’s paid ads, whether active or inactive, reflect themes that Democrats are pushing during this election.
Both Gazette Publisher Chris Reen and Editor-at-Large Vincent Bzdek have not returned request for comment on the ads.
The Denver Gazette was launched in 2020 and is a property of GOP billionaire Phil Anschutz’s Clarity Media Group, which also owns two other conservative newspapers: Colorado Springs Gazette and Colorado Politics, a political print and online newspaper. Conservative news content from Clarity Media’s Washington Examiner is published in Colorado on these platforms. Anschutz is a major donor to Republican and conservative causes in Colorado and beyond.
