Tuesday, April 14, 2026 Issue #291

From Dubois County

Afternoon, Reader,

I jumped on Facebook yesterday and scrolled through my feed, checking out the very few friends’ posts that show up these days, interspersed between advertisements for pickleball paddles and exercise regimens for men over 50.

Soon after, I saw a post about Colson Montgomery from a suggested page called “South Side Smash.” It was a compelling post about his visit to a terminally ill patient in a local hospital.

Curious about the story, I clicked the link. Immediately, I entered a world of pop-up video ads autoplaying over the very ambiguous story about Mr. Montgomery’s visit.

It seemed dubious, so I did some separate research and couldn’t find anything about it anywhere else.

Back on Facebook, where my scroll had stopped on the post, I continued through my feed and, a few posts later, found another “South Side Smash” post about Montgomery. This time, he was providing some wholesome correction to Whoopi Goldberg during an interview on The View.

I didn’t click it, but went ahead and did some research again and found nothing.

I went to the “South Side Smash” Facebook page to see what else they were posting. On a page that says it’s dedicated to the Chicago White Sox, I found post after post of fabricated stories based on stolen images and AI-generated slop covering everything from Chicago police officers dying in the line of duty to Rate Field being completely renovated into what appeared to be a clover-shaped glass dome on the Egyptian Nile.

The comments may have been the worst.

Not the comments themselves, as is the case on social media normally.

But just the fact that people were commenting because they believed what this page was posting.

One guy complimented Montgomery for putting Goldberg in her place. Another argued that the renovation was unneeded (did he even look at the image?).

In a post about Montgomery undergoing a medical procedure, someone wrote, “Get well soon.”

Social media has always been a manipulation factory with a short attention span.

The man who told Colson Montgomery to get well soon likely moved on to the next thing, the next manipulative post. I’m not criticizing him; this man likely sincerely felt what he wrote. There is just so much emotional manipulation out there.

And, it isn’t lost on me that Montgomery is a victim as well. He is the bait being used to ensnare these well-wishers.

That's what makes pages like this so corrosive. They exploit our legitimate feelings for their own financial gain. We end up wasting our emotional investments on smoke and mirrors, leaving us emotionally depleted in the end.

I don't have an answer that hasn't already been given, but maybe take a pause before getting too emotionally involved in something you see on the internet.

From Dubois County with love.

Matthew and Amy Crane

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​Three Sheriff candidates vying for Republican nomination in Primary​

​Dubois County early voting information​

​Mental health and substance use top challenges facing rural Southern Indiana communities​

​Dubois County celebrates Week of the Young Child​

​The Next Act celebrating Astra’s 90th birthday this Friday, April 17​

​Governor to pump $200M into child care vouchers, take 14K kids off waitlist​

​Letter: Illegal voters are not the problem​

We have a community calendar full of great activities and events happening in Dubois County.

If you have an upcoming event you'd like the public to know about, please add it to our calendar.

​See it here.​

​Purdue Extentions seeking Program Assistant​

​Hopf Outdoor Equipment seeking Shop Help​

​Bob Luegers seeking Part Couterperson​

​Jasper Group seeking Specification Service Coordinator​

​Buschkoetter’s Nursery seeking Skilled Landscape Foreman​

​Streicher Construction seeking Construction Workers and General Laborers​

Check out all the job opportunities by clicking here: Employment​

Contact Amy at amy@duboiscountyfreepress.com or 812-639-9650 if you would like to list openings on our website.​

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