In the run-up to March's presidential primary, a Facebook page named Mighty Michigan often appeared in the platform's disclosures as one the top advertisers in the state. It listed a Chicago address and shared a phone number with a number of other nonprofits.

An investigation by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network found the organizations overlap in staff and funding, and since 2019 have been targeting Michigan with an ecosystem of politically-tinged content presented in diverse formats: political reporting, grassroots activism and even satire.

And as Michigan's response to the COVID-19 pandemic became increasingly contentious, they have stoked resentment to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's orders on social media.