by Edward Lynn, Editor
In this same issue, in this same section, is a press release from Secretary of State Paul Pate’s office calling attention to the issue of false information around election results, spread by lying propagandists with political, or anti-American agendas, and the people they’ve fooled. I applaud Secretary Pate’s office for shining a light on the problem of rampant misinformation (wrong information), disinformation (lies) and malinformation (lies of omission or information lacking context, or twisted out of context) across social media and propaganda outlets with the audacity to call themselves “news”. It is very much a real problem, and Secretary Pate has a history of bravely standing up against it. Including from powerful people within his own party.
But local news publishers and broadcasters of record across Iowa and the nation also have a long history, often centuries long, of faithfully and factually reporting election results. And they should not be overlooked as trustworthy sources of information. Local journalists are members of the same communities they report to, and as such are accountable to the community in a way that national or even state-wide reporters aren’t. Which has the desirable effect of generally keeping them honest.
And so I encourage you to look for consensus about election results between the local media of record, with a long history of honest reporting, and whose reporters are there about town day after day, year after year, and the County Auditor’s and Secretary of State’s offices. When you see it, you should be reassured as to the accuracy and truth of the reporting. And when you don’t, that’s a red flag that something may be wrong.
Remember that Iowa’s Secretary of State and Iowa’s County Auditors are all elected officials, and partisan members of one political party or the other. And do not forget that in our time, when this kind of partisan misinformation with a political motive is rampant, and there have been efforts by political parties to put partisans willing to lie about election results into the positions to declare them, we as citizens should be more aware than ever that partisans can never be accepted as the sole and only arbiters of fact. But they can demonstrate after some time in office their integrity when it comes to factually reporting election results.
Here in Wright County, Iowa, we have the luxury of having both an Auditor and a Secretary of State who have demonstrated that kind of history of integrity where election results are concerned. And, I daresay, local media with over a century long history of showing the same integrity. A tradition I am dedicated to carrying on, and believe the other editors in the county to be dedicated to as well.
Look for consensus among us all. Probably, you will see it. But if you don’t, remember which are political party agents, and which are not. Not just now, not just with the people currently in place in these positions of Secretary of State, County Auditor, and local news Editors, but in the future too. And not just here, but anywhere you may one day go.
