A newspaper distributed in Michigan and linked to a network partly funded by George Soros' Open Society Foundation falsely described Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as a military veteran. The August 2026 edition of The Michigan Independent ran the headline "El-Sayed — veteran, doctor, and former health official — is Democratic Senate pick," despite the article's own content making no mention of military service, and despite El-Sayed holding a medical degree but never having practised as a physician. El-Sayed's campaign strongly rejected the claim, saying he has never claimed to be a veteran and calling on outlets to fact-check before publishing.

The Michigan Independent is published via The American Independent Foundation, which received a $500,000 grant from Soros' Foundation to Promote Open Society in 2024, despite presenting itself as an independent local outlet. It is one of thirteen similarly branded state papers operating in competitive states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia, Maine and Alaska, some of which share identical stories. The network is also tied to American Independent Media, which received $23.5 million in 2024 from a foundation linked to David Brock, founder of Media Matters and American Bridge. The American Independent did not respond to a request for comment, and the reporter behind the story, Alyssa Burr, previously worked at MLive and the New York Times.