|
 |
Super PACs — and the billionaires who fund them — are used to operating with impunity. This is especially true for the political mailers they send, which they assume will receive no scrutiny.
Popular Information, and its readers, are beginning to change this dynamic. Today’s newsletter features a mailer that was submitted by a reader using our new web app, paidforby.info. Contacted by Popular Information, a spokesperson for a billionaire-funded super PAC was forced to admit, on the record, that its mailer contains misinformation.
When was the last time that happened?
This is the power of independent accountability journalism that harnesses the passion of its readership. You will not find this kind of reporting — or impact — at billionaire-owned media outlets.
You can help us expand our work and reach by upgrading to a paid subscription. Make a difference for $50 per year or $6 per month.
The falsehoods billionaires are mailing to Ohio voters
A pro-Ramaswamy super PAC was caught pushing misinformation.
| |||||||||||||||
V-PAC is a super PAC supporting Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for governor in Ohio. Most of its $42 million war chest has come from a handful of billionaires, including Jeff Yass ($20 million), Ross Stevens ($6 million), Elon Musk ($5 million), Ratmir Timashev ($5 million), and Bill Ackman ($1 million).
Popular Information obtained a V-PAC mailer attacking Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton from an Ohio voter through Paid For By, our new web app. Paid For By instantly gives voters detailed information about the groups sending political mailers. Popular Information then reviews everything submitted.
The anti-Acton mailer is a vivid illustration of why more journalistic scrutiny of political mail is necessary. Every claim on V-PAC’s mailer is either flatly false or deeply misleading.
 |
The lead claim of the flyer, which inexplicably includes the symbol of the communist party, is that Acton “was called ‘incompetent’ to the Ohio State Medical Board.” This is not true.
To support its claim, V-PAC cites Acton’s 1994 “Application for Certificate – Medicine or Osteopathic Medicine” with the State Medical Board of Ohio. The application is a 23-page document, and at no point is Acton described as “incompetent.”
On page 15, a doctor who supervised Acton for four months at the beginning of her pediatric residency in 1990 describes Acton’s medical knowledge at the time as “insufficient.” But on page 8, another doctor, who supervised Acton for a year later in her residency, described her medical knowledge as “excellent.”
 |
In response to a request for comment, V-PAC spokesperson Conor McGuinness admitted Acton was never described as “incompetent” to the Ohio State Medical Board. “This was simply a typo that appeared on one piece of mail — our copy editor missed it,” McGuinness said.
A second major claim of the V-PAC flyer is that Acton is “TOO RADICAL.” The flyer claims Acton said that “illegals who took jobs from American workers have a right to be here,” citing Acton’s September 10, 2025, appearance on Better Bad Ideas w/ Sean O’Brien. This is also a lie. Acton never said that on the podcast.
During the interview, Acton brings up Trump’s false claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were “eating pets.” Acton noted Ohio’s Republican governor said this was a lie, adding that the Haitian immigrants with legal status are valued members of the community and are employed by local businesses.
O’Brien diverts the conversation to a discussion of corporations that are profiting from employing “illegal immigrant workers” instead of Americans. Acton counters that the Haitian immigrants had legal status, stating that Ohio businesses were “benefiting [from] people who had a right to be here and were here.” She was distinguishing legal Haitian immigrants from undocumented (illegal) immigrants.
McGuinness did not respond to a request for comment about this portion of the mailer.
The V-PAC flyer also claims Acton “is a proud supporter of socialist Zohran Mamdani and backs his agenda,” citing an event broadcast by Ideastream Public Media on June 25, 2025. During that event, Acton was asked about Mamdani, who won the mayoral primary the previous day, and what lessons she took from Mamdani’s victory. Acton said that Mamdani “was very successful at bringing joy and reminding us his main focus was on costs and everyday issues.”
Finally, the V-PAC flyer warns that Acton is “UNHINGED.” The flyer says that Acton claimed “she was clean,” citing the same 1994 medical board application. On that application, she was asked, “Are you now or have you ever been, addicted to or excessively used alcohol, drugs, or other substances which may cause physical or psychological dependence, or impairment of the ability to practice?” Acton answered “NO.”
In the flyer, V-PAC suggests Acton’s answer in her 1994 application was a lie because “the police were called to Amy Acton’s house by her daughter who told 9-1-1 Acton had been drinking and throwing things and breaking glass.” The incident occurred in 2019, 25 years after the medical board application was filed. The police who arrived found “no evidence of any physical violence” and that it was a “verbal dispute only” over Acton’s working hours.
“Seven years ago, I had too much to drink while Amy only had one drink,” Acton’s husband, Eric, said in April. “I take responsibility for my actions that led to the police coming to our home, which was ultimately the result of a single fight between two people who love each other very much.”
In TV ads, V-PAC has suggested, without evidence, that Acton is an alcoholic.
If you’ve received political mail, upload it to paidforby.info. For federal races, you will instantly be provided with in-depth information about the sender. And every mailer is reviewed by a Popular Information journalist.