Back in October, I – along with everyone else in the local media – was forwarded a racist FB message that people on social media claimed a teacher at Clinton High School sent to some parent.
The message contained an n-word and a lot of derogatory, racist comments about Native Americans. You can check it out below:
The message immediately set off my award-winning B.S. detector. I know there are stupid racist people in this world who have awful beliefs, but unless the teacher had low blood sugar, why in the world would she type them out in a Facebook message to a parent? Plus, the way the message was worded was weird. The whole thing felt fake and, as we would learn, was fake.
That being said, one local media outlet took the bait and covered it – Oklahoma’s own News 9.
In a piece that’s deserving of a Heartland Razzie Award, News 9 led their 10pm news broadcast on October 18th with a two-minute-long report about the message. They didn’t talk to the teacher who allegedly sent it or the parent who allegedly received it.
Instead, they built the segment around a phone interview with a random Clinton High School alum who lives in Florida. This alum trashed the teacher and, without evidence, said things like “It’s too hard to believe it wasn’t her.”
Check it out:
That original report and story have since been deleted from News 9’s website (cache is still available here), probably because the message was fake, and the person who wrote and spread it across social media now has a warrant out for their arrest.
Here are the details from, ironically enough, News 9:
WOMAN ACCUSED OF IMPERSONATING CLINTON TEACHER TO SEND RACIST MESSAGES ON FACEBOOK
A warrant has been issued for a woman accused of impersonating a Clinton Public Schools teacher on Facebook to send racist messages…
Kelley stated that she suspected her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, Casee Hughes, was behind the messages due to Hughes allegedly harassing Kelley on Facebook on Oct. 11.
The affidavit stated on Jan. 3, 2023, police received the information requested from TikTok and found that the video was made on Oct. 14, 2022 with an account created with an email address that included Hughes first and last name…
On April 5, a warrant was issued for Hughes on the counts of falsely impersonating another to create liability and computer fraud/unlawful use of a computer/system.
Word to the wise – If you’re going to try to smear and damage someone’s career and reputation on social media, use a burner email address when setting up social media accounts. It will make it a tad harder for the police to catch you.
Although their original report didn't identify the teacher by name, it was weak on evidence and heavy on accusations. As a result, you’d think News 9 would get Amanda Taylor to go on air and say something like:
Back in October, in an effort to capture some clicks, likes and eyeballs, one of our reporters threw together a half-assed report about an alleged racist message written by a teacher that was making the rounds on Facebook. Well, it turns out that message was fake and we amplified it, likely causing more harm. We apologize for this mistake. Now let’s go to Dean with sports…
Okay, so I doubt that will happen. But you never know.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
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