East Central Reporter

Anonymous social media activity has prompted renewed warnings from Edgar County Watchdogs, Inc. regarding the spread of fabricated statements attributed to official sources.

A Facebook page claiming ties to the University of Illinois College of Media has been reposting news articles and, at times, sharing content that appears designed to mislead readers about its origins. One recent example involves an “Official Statement” allegedly from the Fifth Judicial Circuit. The statement responded to coverage by Edgar County Watchdogs about an Edgar County Judge facing DUI charges and referenced information obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The purported court statement suggested possible defamation related to reporting details from a police report. However, according to Edgar County Watchdogs, citing public records such as police reports does not constitute defamation or character assassination.

To verify the source of the statement, inquiries were made with both the Illinois Supreme Court Communications Department and the Fifth Judicial Circuit’s Public Affairs/Information Office. Their response was clear: “the statement did not come from the Supreme Court Communications Office or the Fifth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge’s Office.”

A similar situation occurred previously with a fake statement attributed to the Director of the Illinois State Police, who also denied issuing it.

Edgar County Watchdogs emphasized that legitimate news outlets are transparent about their identity and provide contact information for accountability purposes.