Are you getting as tired of reading these headlines as we are writing them? It seems that every week Josephine County Commissioner Chris Barnett manages to manufacture yet another scandal from his own social media missteps. Once again, Barnett has placed himself squarely at the center of controversy, this time by launching a fresh round of online attacks against local media outlets. The latest chapter in this ongoing saga follows a detailed report by the Grants Pass Daily Courier, a story also reported by the Grants Pass Tribune just days earlier, which exposed how Barnett’s expanding network of social media accounts has been weaponized to target and publicly shame residents, including library advocates and political critics. His repeated denials ring hollow amid mounting evidence that reveals a consistent and troubling pattern of behavior, one that crosses the line between public service and personal vendetta, raising serious questions about his fitness to lead.
Less than a day after the Daily Courier published an investigative piece titled “Barnett Social Media Pages Get Personal With Attacks,” Barnett responded not with accountability, but with defiance. Posting on his verified Facebook page, he accused the newspaper of publishing “false stories” and claimed reporters “never call me to get the real story.” Within minutes, a nearly identical rebuttal appeared on a Facebook page titled Real Live News Southern Oregon, signed by “Shirley Johnson.” The post, titled The Truth About the Grants Pass Daily Courier’s False Story — From Me, Shirley Johnson, mirrored Barnett’s defense word-for-word, portraying him as a victim of biased journalism. (See article posted below.)
However, the problem for Barnett is that Real Live News Southern Oregon—along with Josephine County Tribune, Grants Pass News, and several other Facebook sites—has long been publicly linked to him through his own posts, shared content, and state registration records. Each page operates under his name, or in some cases under assumed aliases, and regularly posts stories attacking the same individuals who have criticized him as commissioner. The Daily Courier’s report referenced evidence of these links, including Barnett’s repeated use of these channels to post pseudo-news stories under the guise of journalism.
The latest attack centers on Jennifer Roberts, co-chair of the Josephine County Friends of the Library, who was featured in a post by Barnett’s network of pages. The post used a private family photo, reportedly taken before Roberts began chemotherapy, and accused her of spreading misinformation about a library lease renegotiation. Roberts described the use of her image as “intrusive and weird.” Only a week earlier, another post on Barnett’s pages had targeted local resident David Blakely, labeling him “pedo” and exposing his local address.
The Grants Pass Tribune previously reported both incidents—the doxxing of Blakely and the defamation of Roberts—as part of a broader pattern of online harassment by Barnett and his affiliated pages. Each time he is confronted, Barnett issues statements denying involvement, only to later share or endorse the same material. The latest “Shirley Johnson” statement follows that pattern precisely: Barnett personally thanked “Shirley” for “setting the record straight,” an odd gesture considering that the alleged author was defending him using identical language to his own posts.
The so-called “independent journalist” Johnson accused the Daily Courier of bias, claiming the newspaper failed to contact her or Barnett before publishing. Yet that argument falls apart under scrutiny. The Courier’s article explicitly references public records and screenshots from Barnett’s accounts, and it also states that reporters reached out to Barnett for comment. Furthermore, the structure, tone, and writing style of the “Shirley Johnson” post are strikingly similar to Barnett’s own social media rants, reinforcing suspicions that “Shirley Johnson” is a pseudonym or an AI-generated alias designed to create the illusion of outside validation.
In her post, “Johnson” derides the Courier as “a dying relic begging for donations” and declares that social media has “taken away their monopoly on local narratives.” The post goes on to call the paper’s reporting “misleading” and “borderline defamatory,” even asserting that the paper should be “ashamed of themselves.” Such emotionally charged language, coupled with Barnett’s own public endorsement of the post, raises serious ethical questions about whether a sitting county commissioner is using social media to manipulate public perception under false pretenses.
What makes this episode more alarming is Barnett’s refusal to acknowledge responsibility for the very pages that bear his name. In his Facebook comment, he insists he doesn’t operate the platforms, yet evidence gathered by both the Daily Courier and the Grants Pass Tribune demonstrates the opposite. The accounts were registered under his name with the Oregon Secretary of State, and many of their posts feature identical timestamps and stylistic fingerprints across his known social media outlets.
Public officials are entitled to defend themselves, but Barnett’s behavior veers into propaganda. By masquerading political attacks as “news” through unofficial media outlets, he undermines legitimate journalism while using his elected position to distort truth for personal gain. These tactics not only erode public trust—they also expose the county to reputational and ethical fallout.
Even Barnett’s fellow commissioner, Andreas Blech, has distanced himself, as the Courier reported, he “disavows any type of unsavory or inappropriate behavior against anybody.” Meanwhile, Barnett continues to post inflammatory statements and share links to his so-called “independent” pages, perpetuating the same cycle of denial, defensiveness, and digital retaliation that has defined much of his tenure.
The public record, however, speaks for itself. The photos, the posts, and the registration data all point to the same conclusion: Chris Barnett controls these online entities—whether directly, through a proxy, or via pseudonymous content creation. His attempt to dodge accountability by hiding behind fictional authors only underscores his growing disconnect from reality.
As the Grants Pass Tribune and Daily Courier continue to document, Barnett’s social media empire has evolved from campaign tool to personal weapon, targeting citizens, critics, and even the press. His latest stunt—thanking himself for defending himself—reveals a political figure trapped in an echo chamber of his own making, where truth bends to convenience and accountability remains perpetually out of reach.
Until Commissioner Barnett confronts the ethical consequences of his actions and acknowledges responsibility for the content he publishes, his credibility—both as an elected official and as a voice in this community—will remain deeply compromised.
