Photo-News Again Fails Readers With Deceptive Ads, & Zero Fact Checking
Between David Rabbitts false statements and the American Chemistry Council's deceptive advertisements, Straus News had a banner week for letting down their readers.
Pictured Above: The Photo-News — a Straus News publication that routinely asks readers for money to subsidize its advertising business disguised as a newspaper — published a campaign announcement from David Rabbitts this week. They did so without bothering to fact-check it. Had they done so, Straus News would have found Mr. Rabbitts started it off with a lie. In case you missed it, you can read how David Rabbitts is working in the New York State Assembly to endanger your health and safety here.
Before we begin, this is just a reminder that tomorrow (Saturday May 3rd, 2025) from 1pm to 2:30pm at the corner of Lake Street and 17M, there will be a local Indivisible Protest. You should take note of which local politicians show up, because it’ll demonstrate to you which ones actually care about the general lawlessness happening both locally and nationally. (If Mike Sussman is there, also feel free to ask him when he’ll be attending a South Blooming Grove Village Board meeting, and if he’s requested time to speak on the agenda, since Joel Stern eliminated public comment.)
Not sure what the protest is about? Living in a bubble? Well take a listen to this and come join the cause:
Picture this: You're running for Monroe Town Supervisor. Most people have never heard of or even seen you before. You haven't been to a Town meeting in years (if ever), and you've been sending a weird asshole to people's doors to get signatures.
When announcing your campaign, do you:
A - Come out strong with a great platform?
-“Monroe has no emergency management plan in the event of a Jennings Creek Fire situation!”
-“Tax Hike Tony raised your taxes nearly ~11% in 2025, and because of his malfeasance, will need to raise them again in 2026 and 2027!”
-“We have an elderly population and declining volunteer firefighters and EMS workers. We need to advocate for a County-wide program that gets these brave men and women PAID.”
B- Literally lie in the first sentence of your campaign announcement?
If you are David Rabbitts, you took Option B.
Mr. Rabbitts did NOT have a successful petitioning process.
David began with 425 signatures.
The Board of Elections then removed about 130 for duplicates, errors, and inauthentic signatures. Leaving him with about 295 signatures.
The courts then found approximately 20 more inauthentic signatures and errors. Bringing Mr. Rabbitts to ~ 275 signatures total. Only slightly more than the absolute minimum to get on the ballot.
That means, by the skin of his teeth, Mr. Rabbits BARELY made the ballot for the Town of Monroe Democratic Primary in June.
Does that sound successful to you?
Worse still, Rabbitts faced a lawsuit accusing him of fraud by Councilwoman Maureen Richardson — his primary opponent — because the handwriting on the petitions did not match the handwriting of voters in excessive numbers.
Let's give a round of applause to The Photo-News, though. Because they failed to provide any fact-checking of this in the same issue where they ran the following ad.
Also, note the language at the bottom of the ad. Based on their consistent behavior in failing to fact check local politicians, misleading headlines, refusal to publish letters to the editor from Monroe and Woodbury residents, and continuing to give local Nazi Jay Westerveld a platform, Straus News clearly doesn’t get the irony found within ads like this one. They do, however, want advertisers to know they’re ready to serve them.
This Comedian Writes The News
Want to support an actual local journalist who does what Straus News often doesn’t? You can subscribe to The Monroe Gazette for less than what it costs to pay for Netflix.
You know we do our job based on the number of unhinged rants that get posted about us over in the Monroe Matters Facebook group. (Rants we can’t respond to, since apparently we’re not allowed in that group.)
Here’s an excerpt from Alex “Nice Toes” Rivera a day after we exposed Rivera’s efforts to assist Tim Mitt’s lawsuit against the Town of Monroe
BTW: We have never written 15,000 words to describe a pothole, but out of spite, we just might now. So if you know of any real bad potholes, like the ones on 17M, let us know!
So, this time last year, The Photo-News ran this deceptive advertisement from the American Chemistry Council:
Then in April of 2025, almost a year later, they did it again:
I reached out to the American Chemistry Council to request some additional information on the statements made in their ads. I also asked them if they could identify these “Radical Activists.” Sarah Scruggs Brandt, the Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs, did not reply to emails and phone calls requesting comment.
We also reached out to Jean Straus, publisher of The Photo-News. We followed-up on complaints submitted to them last year that it was difficult to identify who placed the advertisement. We also asked, “Does Straus News feel an obligation to fact-check claims made by the American Chemistry Council in these advertisements? Given the serious nature of the claims made by the ACC involving prices at the grocery store, we hope these claims will receive a high level of scrutiny to protect readers and the community from disinformation.” A representative of Straus News emailed us back saying, “Thank you for the submission. Your message was shared with the publisher and editor so they can reply directly.” Neither Lisa Reider (the editor of The Photo-News) or Jean Straus replied to our questions.
So, we once again did what Straus News could not, or would not, we fact checked the American Chemistry Council’s advertisement.
First, we spoke with Clean+Healthy’s Toxics Policy Director, Mrs. Sophia Longsworth. After showing her the two American Chemistry Council advertisements published by Straus News, Mrs. Longsworth said:
“As usual, the ACC is using deceptive scare tactics to safeguard their financial benefits from the production and circulation of packaging made from toxic chemicals that are harmful to the environment. The costs of which continue to be externalized to other sectors - health, natural resources, and overall quality of life.
The Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act will reduce waste, increase recycling, protect the environment, and save money for local governments and taxpayers by making producers accountable for the waste they generate. Advocates, small businesses, and consumers alike agree that the Packaging bill will be both an economic and environmental benefit to New Yorkers.”
Mrs. Longsworth also pointed us to the a page detailing the projected economic benefits of the Packaging bill, which the ACC ads in the Straus News papers were attacking. You can see that information here. At any point, Straus News could have provided this information the public. They did not.
Mrs. Longworth added, “New Yorkers will save an estimated $1.3 billion over the next 10 years when PRRIA is passed and adopted, all while addressing a growing threat to public health and the environment.”
We reached out to New York State Assemblyman, Chris Eachus’s office for comment on the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act. Legislation that he is a co-sponsor of.
We specifically requested that Mr. David Rabbitts NOT provide comment, given that he is currently a candidate for office here in Monroe. We wanted to hear from the Assemblyman directly, but he declined to comment. So next we turned to Alan Cole of Third Act Upstate, who said to us, “Third Act Upstate New York finds it extremely gratifying when legislators listen, not to a scary paid lobbying campaign, but instead to the wishes of their own constituents."“
Melissa Carlson, also of Third Act Upstate, told us, “There is no packaging that is being banned. There are ingredients in packaging, like heavy metals (known toxins), that would be banned.
I wonder why using LESS of something is supposed to make groceries cost more?
Landfills are finite and filling up with plastics that should have been kept in the ground. WE consumers are paying taxes for disposing of single use plastics which are the profit making machine of the fossil fuel companies. Which is why they have the money to run this huge ad!”
We’ll see you all at the protest on Saturday, rain or shine.
But if you’re interested in supporting the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act and The Bigger Better Bottle Bill, there is an upcoming People over Plastic Rally in Albany on May 7th from 10am to 4:30pm. All of the information for the protest, as well as arrangements for transportation, can be found here.