14/12/2024
The Town of Totally-Not-Real News
Somewhere in the digital alleys of Facebook, a page quietly appeared: Totally-Not-Real News: Smalltown Edition. Its profile picture? A cartoon cow holding a clipboard. Its motto? "Keeping the circle on its toes, one ridiculous post at a time."
At first, folks didn’t know what to make of it. The page churned out gems like:
• “BREAKING: Town council proposes replacing potholes with community ‘speed bumps’ for added adventure.”
• “SHOCKING: Mayor’s office confirms plans to ban umbrellas, citing ‘overuse’ during last month’s rainstorm.”
• “NEW ORDINANCE: Residents must get permits to own yard gnomes due to ‘unauthorized staring.’”
The posts were absurd enough to make people laugh, but sharp enough to sting. Like when the page shared, “BREAKING: City council to fund dog park while sewage system still relies on duct tape and prayers.” People laughed… but started whispering, “Hey, wait a second…”
It wasn’t long before the long-entrenched powers, that circle of folks who’d been quietly steering the ship for decades, started paying attention. For years, they’d maintained control through the usual tricks: controlling the narrative, leaning on backdoor gossip, and shrugging off any public dissent. But this? This wasn’t some loudmouth in a bar. It was subtle and landing punches where it hurt.
Then, the page pushed too far. It posted about a rumored new policy:
“Council secretly considering a rule to ban holiday lights after one too many ‘light pollution’ complaints.”
Funny, right? Except the punchline came too close to an actual, behind-closed-doors discussion about new zoning laws. That’s when the circle realized someone wasn’t just guessing. So they went on the offensive.
The circle tried to bait the page with a phony leak about a proposed ban on BBQ grills. The admin didn’t take the bait. Instead, the page doubled down, posting:
“BREAKING: Backyard BBQs replaced with city-mandated solar-powered griddles. Any burger cooked over 150°F requires a notarized affidavit.”
It went viral overnight. The circle was left scrambling, trying to explain that no, they weren’t actually banning BBQs, and no, solar-powered griddles weren’t a thing, while locals showed up to town hall meetings clutching spatulas in protest.
The more the page posted, the more the circle tried to pin down the admin. They sent quiet feelers into the community, floated rumors to see which ones would surface. Some were even plotted out to pave the way for a juicy defamation suit. But time and again, Totally-Not-Real News stayed one step ahead. The admin wasn’t just poking fun. They were pulling back curtains and showing people where to look. And it worked. Residents who’d tuned out for years suddenly started asking real questions. “Wait, why is the town building a fountain instead of fixing the water line?” “Who approved that massive budget for park benches when the roads are falling apart?”
Eventually, the circle gave up trying to smoke out the admin. But not before they learned the hard way that their decades of control, built on complacency and whispers, wasn’t as airtight as they thought.
The page eventually went quiet, its admin leaving one last post:
“If the truth hurts, maybe it’s time to stop stepping on it.”
In the weeks that followed, life in the town carried on. The circle slowly tried to regain its footing, but things had changed. The meetings were fuller, questions sharper, and the usual shrug-it-off routine didn’t hold water anymore.
Every so often, though, a sharp-eyed resident would notice something strange. A perfectly phrased comment under a local news story. A pointed question at a council meeting that seemed to cut right to the quick. Or, once in a while, a meme that felt just like one of those old Totally-Not-Real News posts.
Rumors swirled. Some said the admin was still watching, waiting for their moment. Others claimed it was just the spirit of the page living on in a newly informed town. Either way, the circle couldn’t stop looking over their shoulders, wondering if another clipboard-holding cow was about to appear.
Because once you open people’s eyes, it’s hard to shut them again. And in this town, the spotlight wasn’t going out anytime soon.