McPherson's Largest Online Forums Voted to Block Bond Election Coverage, Admin Says
Facebook group admins deemed superintendent interview 'skewed in favor of the bond'; Public Right to Know group also failed to publish article
MCPHERSON, Kan. — Administrators of the McPherson Community Facebook group voted to block a Citizen Journal interview with USD 418 Superintendent Dr. Shiloh Vincent about the district's March 3 bond election, according to a group administrator. The administrator told Citizen Journal that admins "took a vote this morning that the article is skewed in favor of the bond," adding that the group has "been careful not to allow anything besides purely informational posts." The interview, which was conducted in a question-and-answer format, gave Dr. Vincent an opportunity to explain the district's position on the bond. The article also failed to appear in the Public Right to Know group, McPherson's largest online forum with approximately 17,000 followers, after two separate submissions. Citizen Journal was unable to reach administrators of that group for comment.
Screenshots from the McPherson Community group's content management panel document two attempts to share the article: the first was marked "Declined" by administrators, and a second submission was removed. The group, which has roughly 14,000 members, has approved other Citizen Journal posts in recent weeks. The McPherson Community group's posted rules state that "Political posts must be kept to local and state elections and be informational only. Posts and comments regarding Q&A sessions, voting times, places, & where and when to register are welcome but must not contain any bias toward any specific candidate, party, or question on the ballot. Bans for violation of any rule or guideline are at admin discretion and do not require a warning." No posted rule of the Public Right to Know group appears to have been violated by the submission. Between them, the two groups have a combined reach of roughly 31,000.
The impact of exclusion from these groups is measurable. A recent post about a local homicide reached approximately 10,000 people through these forums. By comparison, the Citizen Journal interview with Dr. Vincent has reached roughly 900 without access to them. As private Facebook groups, administrators are fully within their rights to approve or decline any content they choose. But the decisions nonetheless raise questions about the role unelected Facebook group administrators play in shaping what election information reaches voters in small communities.
As rural Kansas towns like McPherson have lost traditional newspapers, volunteer-run Facebook groups have increasingly become the primary channels through which residents receive local news — giving a handful of unpaid moderators significant editorial influence over public discourse ahead of elections. In an era when digital platforms have largely replaced print media as the local town square, the gatekeeping power held by a small number of volunteer administrators carries weight that few anticipated when these groups were first created. The Citizen Journal interview with Dr. Vincent, along with a full transcript, can be found below:
Greg Loving
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