Trust but Verify Wyoming aims to combat growing spread of misinformation by mailers

CHEYENNE — The circulation of attack mailers from out-of-state interest groups has many Wyoming lawmakers concerned about the spread of misinformation during election cycles. Trust but Verify Wyoming, an initiative launched by a political action committee, aims to fight against it.

Earlier this month, a Virginia-based PAC sent out political mailers to Wyomingites in Albany County that falsely portrayed former U.S. Sen. Keith Kennedy from Virginia as a candidate for the Wyoming Senate, WyoFile reported.

There is a Keith Kennedy from Laramie who is running as a Republican candidate for Senate District 9 this year, but he looks nothing like the former U.S. senator from Virginia whose photo appeared on the mailer.

The Prosperity and Commerce PAC (PAC PAC), formed in 2018, launched a website last week, Trust but Verify Wyoming, to help voters fact-check political mailers. The website, which can be found at factcheckwyoming.com, portrays in large letters a popular quote from former President Ronald Reagan: “The 11th Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”

“During the Cold War, President Reagan leaned on the Russian Proverb ‘Trust but Verify’ to move negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev forward. Those translated words still ring true today,” the website stated.

PAC Chairman Mark Macy told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle this initiative promotes Gov. Mark Gordon’s interest in slowing down the spread of misinformation in Wyoming elections, which is “getting out of hand.” Anonymous attack mailers have infiltrated the last couple of election cycles, targeting both state legislators and executive officials.

Wyoming legislative leaders have condemned these attack mailers and called on voters to read them with caution.

“Now, more than ever, the most crucial task for voters lies in our ability to discern the truth, a skill that hinges on scrutinizing the source,” Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, and House Speaker Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, said in an op-ed distributed by the Wyoming Press Association.

Trust but Verify Wyoming is a resource that encourages voters to directly contact candidates targeted by attack mailers, according to the website. It lists several candidates who are running for statewide office that have been “mistreated by outside information,” Macy said.

“(Gordon) believes that they should have an ability to combat that through additional funds to help their campaign,” Macy said.

Governor’s Office spokesperson Michael Pearlman confirmed that Trust but Verify Wyoming is not connected with the Governor’s Office. However, Macy did say Gordon is involved with the PAC.

“It’s not me making the decision, it’s the governor, because it’s his PAC,” Macy said.

A statement from Gordon posted on the Trust but Verify Wyoming website supports the initiative to fight political misinformation.

“Wyoming voters are fed up with the often misleading — and outright misinformation — about candidates being spewed from unknown and opaque out-of-state special interests which seem willing to spend millions of dollars doing so,” Gordon said in the statement. “Voters should pause and ask — is what they are hearing true?”

Macy noted that there is no political agenda behind Trust but Verify Wyoming. The objective is not to pit the Wyoming Caucus against the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, he said, but rather to protect all Republican legislative candidates. The Wyoming Caucus is a group of moderate Republican state legislators who disagree with policies and viewpoints pushed by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

“There are candidates on both sides the governor is helping,” Macy said. “It’s really intended to help the Republican Party in total, not meant to divide the party.”