This week, Popular Information released PaidForBy.info, a web app that gives unprecedented insight into who is really sending you political mailers — and who is paying for it. Anyone can use it for free. All you have to do is take a photo of the front and the back of the mailer and upload it. It also works on YouTube and TV ads.
For months, Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and President Trump, have been claiming that Americans’ opposition to data centers is being manufactured by China. The claim was popularized by a 2026 report by the Bitcoin Policy Institute, which has been cited by several Republicans. The report, however, does not provide any evidence China is driving opposition to data centers.
Through Paid For By, Popular Information obtained a political mailer from V-PAC, a super PAC supporting Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for governor in Ohio, attacking his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. The mailer is rife with false and misleading claims. A spokesperson for V-PAC admitted that the featured claim in the mailer was untrue, attributing the error to a “typo.”
