False front pages wrapped around copies of Wednesday’s Journal-World, USA Today, New York Times

Several newspaper boxes in downtown Lawrence and at least one on the Kansas University campus were filled Wednesday with unwelcome additions: false front pages featuring stories critical of capitalism, corporate media and the U.S. judicial system.

The false pages, designed to look like USA Today, were found wrapped around legitimate copies of USA Today, the Lawrence Journal-World, the Kansas City Star and the New York Times. Such pages also were found in newspaper boxes in California, Chicago, Chapel Hill, N.C., and Washington, D.C.

Surveillance video shows that two people inserted false pages at 5:50 a.m. Wednesday into a box outside The News Center, 645 N.H., said Ralph Gage, director of special projects for The World Company, which owns the Journal-World.

The source of the false pages is not clear, he said, but judging by the printed content it appears to be the work of anarchists.

Journal-World employees noticed the false front pages early Wednesday morning and then worked to remove them from boxes. The company is checking its surveillance videos for evidence that could lead to filing of a police report.

While only one customer had contacted him to report being misled by the false content, Gage said, it was still one customer too many.

“We’re serious about what we present to the public,” Gage said. “We stand behind it. We don’t want other people inserting anything in our product or wrapping it around our product.”