If you’re an Oklahoma parent and recently found yourself wondering, “Why is Ryan Walters emailing me again?”—congrats! You’ve been added to the State Superintendent’s unofficial propaganda email list… whether you asked for it or not.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve been forwarded a series of email newsletters that Ryan has apparently been blasting out to Oklahoma parents.
Titled “Oklahoma Public School Update” and wrapped in official-looking branding complete with his name and state seal, the emails first started landing in inboxes back in January under the benign—and very false—pretense of “We're just sharing some important updates and new initiatives” about our public schools.
For example, here’s one he sent on January 8th:
As any informed Oklahoman knows, Ryan Walters is anything but benign or innocuous—malignant and insidious are probably more appropriate terms—so naturally, the “Public School Update” has quickly evolved into yet another propaganda platform where he can pitch, spin, and promote his dystopian, theocratic privatization agenda for Oklahoma public education direct to in-boxes.
Take this recent gem, where he used the newsletter to promote his unconstitutional effort to shove Bibles into classrooms, while also cheerleading a brand-new anti-union teacher group:
That’s swell. I think my favorite part is where Ryan casually sandwiches in a “Hey look, they played Uno in Calumet!” right in the middle of all his biblical chaos.
First of all, it may be the first time this century “Calumet” and “fun” have appeared in the same sentence.
Second, it’s almost like Ryan’s handlers knew the messaging was veering a little too hard into “Bible-thumping, union-busting, Big Brother surveillance” territory, so they tossed in a random feel-good story to soften the edges.
I'm pretty sure it's the propaganda equivalent of nervously buying a scented candle and a bag of Sour Patch Kids while checking out with lube and condoms at Walgreens. But hey—shout-out to Calumet. Glad someone’s having fun there.
Once again, this is just one of around ten emails Ryan has sent out to unsuspecting parents over the last few months to impose, pitch, and normalize his radical vision for public schools.
This week, he sent out another one celebrating the potential demise of the U.S. Department of Education and pitching his bold new idea: giving Oklahoma a blank check from the federal government to do, well, whatever he wants with it.
Yep. Good news for Trump Bible salesmen and any Oklahoma parent who’s dreamed of using public education funds to buy a flat-screen TV, a grill, or a Pac-Man arcade cabinet.
You know that theocratic Trump loyalist who wants to spend $3 million on Bible textbooks, and couldn’t distribute $18 million in COVID relief funds without tripping over incompetence, grifters, and potential fraud? He now wants unfettered control and access to hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal education money.
Outside of every Oklahoma high school cafeteria being flipped into a Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen, what could go wrong with that?
Okay, I’m being a bit judgmental.
According to the “Mission, Vision, and Values” section included at the end of each spam-blast, Ryan is deeply committed to parental empowerment, transparency, and responsible spending, so everything's totally fine. No need to worry.
Yep! That’s right.
Ryan’s goal for the Oklahoma State Department of Education is to create “a student-focused system free from indoctrination and driven by choice," which he plans to accomplish by, uhm, forcing children to read from the Bible and pray to God each morning while their underpaid, non-union teacher fills out paperwork for a school voucher program.
Sounds empowering!
Anyway, these are just a few examples of how Ryan is now using state resources and mass email blasts to pitch, normalize, and promote his increasingly radical vision for public education in Oklahoma.
If you're teaching a woke college course on propaganda and its effects on civilization and want to receive them, feel free to email the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Just make sure you don’t get phished!
Then again, another way to get the emails might just be to sit back and wait.
According to the parents we’ve heard from, they never knowingly signed up, opted in, or agreed to be added to the email list. Like a scammy unpaid turnpike toll text making the rounds, they just started receiving them one day.
It makes you wonder, did Ryan get access to a statewide parent contact list through the Department of Education? Is he blending district data with campaign-style messaging? Is he violating any privacy laws or skirting ethical boundaries?
We don’t know the answers to those questions—I assume the last two would get a yes—but we’ll keep monitoring Ryan’s inbox dispatches and let you know what fresh propaganda hits your spam folder next.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
