Dressed up like a hometown newspaper, the Wisconsin Transcript landed in Milwaukee-area mailboxes this month with the Capitol dome on the cover and a slogan running across the top: "Local News. Community. Faith. Events."
Inside is a claim the Polish Center of Wisconsin says is false.
The publication, dated Aug. 6, was sent out days before Wisconsin's primary for governor. The pages are filled with mugshots from Wisconsin jails, stories about Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany criticizing his Democratic opponents, and an "immigration tracker" listing the organizations it says got the most federal resettlement money in Wisconsin.
Third on the list is the "Polish Community Center (Milwaukee)," at $3,096,927.
However, the Polish Center of Wisconsin said it has never received federal immigration funds and does not run a resettlement program. It knows of no other Milwaukee-area group by that name.
The center is owned by the Polish Heritage Alliance, a nonprofit built around Polish cultural events and education. The group put out a public statement Aug. 11 debunking the publication's claims.
"We chose to address the claim proactively because we believe Wisconsin voters, our members, donors, and the broader community deserve access to accurate information," spokeswoman Lauren Nitka Adeniyi told Public Investigator.
The Polish Center still doesn't know who to contact about the error. No publishers or writers are named in the publication.
Dressed up like a hometown newspaper, the Wisconsin Transcript landed in Milwaukee-area mailboxes this month with the Capitol dome on the cover and a slogan running across the top: "Local News. Com...