As part of F’nAround’s ongoing work as an independent media platform and protected journalistic outlet, we occasionally publish correspondence and commentary tied to our investigative and comedic reporting on public figures, corporations, and cultural events.

For the past few weeks, we ran an experiment. A real-time civics lesson dressed up social media watchdog reporting .

The premise was simple: What happens when you politely with an edge but persistently ask public officials about illegal or unethical actions their administrations approved, ignored, or green-lit while under oath to protect the public?

Spoiler: They don’t love it.

But we didn’t just randomly throw darts at a map. We only targeted jurisdictions where we had the receipts, financial records, wire transfers, court filings, and licensing documents that made our questions more “uh-oh” than “just curious.”

We picked three states: Illinois, Michigan, and Kentucky. Three governors. Three political machines. One First Amendment.

Let’s Meet the Contestants

• Illinois: We asked Governor Pritzker, Lt. Governor Stratton, AG Kwame Raoul, and Senator Dick Durbin why their administration hasn’t acknowledged let alone investigated witness retaliation, bribery, fraud, and threats stemming from the cannabis industry. A witness even threatened to take his own life. Still no comment.

• Michigan: We asked Governor Whitmer why her state allowed a cannabis company to transfer ownership mid-lawsuit to a new entity, a neat legal trick that smells like fraudulent conveyance.

• Kentucky: We asked Governor Andy Beshear why his office granted a fresh cannabis license to a company currently being sued for exactly the type of behavior that usually disqualifies someone from holding a license in the first place.

We weren’t rude. We weren’t spammy. We just… asked. Repeatedly. Publicly. On the record. And called out thy hypocrisy of their posts.

And Now, The Results Show

The Gold Stars (they stayed consistent)

• Sen. Dick Durbin (IL): Didn’t flinch. Didn’t block. Didn’t suddenly start tweeting about puppies and broadband access. Say what you want about career politicians, Dick’s been through worse. He passed the vibe check by simply not changing.

• Gov. Andy Beshear (KY): Also passed. Stayed on message. Kept dancing like a man with national ambitions and a consultant whispering “don’t engage, just smile.”

The Suspiciously Quiet

• AG Kwame Raoul (IL): Didn’t block. Didn’t delete. Just… posted a lot less. Maybe he was busy. Maybe he wasn’t. But in our experiment, we track change, not excuses. And the pattern definitely shifted.

• Gov. Pritzker (IL): Oh boy. Where to begin? He didn’t block or delete, but something weird happened. Whenever a post hit a little too close to home, the next thing he tweeted felt suspiciously like a lawyer wrote it. The rhythm changed. The order of posts changed. We’d call it the “Legal Team Waltz.” Still technically legal, but definitely dancing.

The First Amendment Gymnastics Team

• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (MI): Suddenly, our posts weren’t showing up on her page despite still appearing on others. Views tanked only on her account. We suspect the ol’ “flag them as spam” workaround. Technically not a block… but definitely a toe over the line. The First Amendment doesn’t say, “You’re free to speak unless the algorithm says no.”

• Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (IL): The standout. Our personal favorite. She didn’t block us, she just deleted and reposted the exact same thing multiple times with our comments mysteriously gone. We were the only reply on those posts. Then we noticed her Instagram settings only allow only “approved” users to comment. That’s not just sus, it’s illegal.

Per Knight v. Trump, officials can’t curate public discourse on official platforms. You can’t call it “public service” and then run it like a private club.

We asked about that too to the rest of the Illinois team. No response. But we’re pretty sure she’s seen it… given the sudden reposts.

What’s Next?

We weren’t trying to cancel anyone. We were testing something deeper: Has public accountability become a performance? Is speech still free if public officials get to erase the comments they don’t like?

So far, we’ve confirmed two things:

1. Some politicians are better at playing it cool than others.

2. The Constitution still makes people nervous when it’s inconvenient.

We’ll continue tracking, asking questions, and staying legally safe (because reporting is protected, y’all). And if they delete the post again?

We’ll repost. Just like they do.

Welcome to Season 2 of “F’nAround With Democracy.” Airing now on every feed they don’t illegally block us from.

Speech Ain’t Free If You Gotta Tiptoe

FOIA

The Blood of Christ and a Curious “No Comment”