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Reporting What Matters

RHCJC

Reporting What Matters

RHCJC

Reporting What Matters

RHCJC

A “What Is True?” fact-check finds no evidence that phone companies will start recording calls over 10 minutes in January 2026. The claim began in the U.K. and spread online but misrepresents current surveillance and privacy laws.

Social media rumor falsely claims long phone calls will be recorded and stored

Molly Gill and Walker Scott November 3, 2025
Social media users claim that beginning in January 2026, all phone calls lasting more than 10 minutes will be recorded and stored by phone companies for 30 days.
21-year-old Demartravion "Trey" Reed of Grenada was found hanging from a tree on the campus of Delta State University on Sept. 15, 2025. Since his death, misinformation has spread online about what happened before his death and what evidence exists. Photo courtesy Demartravion Reed's Facebook page.

What’s true – and what isn’t – about video and autopsy rumors in the Trey Reed case

Walker Scott October 27, 2025
Social media posts claim video evidence shows Delta State University student Demartravion “Trey” Reed being attacked and his autopsy confirms signs of physical injury.
HGTV Stars and Laurel, MS. natives Ben and Erin Napier pose for a promotional photo in Sebring, Florida ahead of the release of the March 2025 season premiere of their show 'Home Town Takeover'. (Source: HGTV/Warner Bros. Discovery Media Release)

Did HGTV’s ‘Home Town’ cause Laurel’s housing prices to rise? Not exactly.

Molly Gill, Walker Scott October 13, 2025
Social media users have claimed Home Town, featuring Laurel couple Erin and Ben Napier, is responsible for driving up home prices in the city.
Fake Mississippi Lottery app ads target players amid record jackpots

Fake Mississippi Lottery app ads target players amid record jackpots

Matthew Martin, Walker Scott October 7, 2025
With national lotteries reaching record payouts, an increasing number of ads on social media have invited Mississippi players to download an app to purchase Mississippi lottery tickets and check their numbers.
Cribs and toys line the walls of Bettie’s infant room. Like other classrooms in the center, the nursery operates under strict state child-to-staff ratio limits — which affects how many children the facility can enroll.

Mississippi’s infant mortality is rising — but not because of vaccines 

Molly Gill and Walker Scott September 22, 2025
While vaccines, like any medical treatment, carry rare risks, health experts agree they are not the cause of Mississippi’s rising infant mortality rate.
Exterior view of a T.J. Maxx store with cars parked in front under a partly cloudy sky.

No, T.J. Maxx isn’t closing all stores September 2025

Walker Scott September 15, 2025
Posts on TikTok and other social media platforms claim that T.J. Maxx will close all of its stores worldwide on Sept. 23, 2025.
Black cow standing protectively near her calf in a grassy field, with more cattle in the background.

What’s true about lab-grown meat in Mississippi? Not the cancer claims.

Walker Scott September 8, 2025
A viral post claims lab-grown meat, which has been banned in Mississippi, contains cancerous cells. But scientific research shows the product does not pose the cancer risk suggested online.
Join the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center for a media literacy class on April 15.

RHCJC to host free media literacy event at USM Hattiesburg

April 7, 2025
The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center will host its “Ask Me What Is True?” media literacy training on April 15 at the Hattiesburg campus of The University of Southern Mississippi.
The main bureau of the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center is housed on the Hattiesburg campus of The University of Southern Mississippi.

RHCJC to host free media literacy training at Southern Miss Hattiesburg campus

January 28, 2025
The public is invited to attend a free Roy Howard Community Journalism Center media literacy training session on Feb. 28 at the Hattiesburg campus of The University of Southern Mississippi.
Abria Turner is the student administrative assistant for the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center.

RHCJC to host free media literacy training in Wiggins

January 24, 2025
The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center, in partnership with the Stone County Enterprise, will host a free media literacy training on Feb. 3 in Wiggins.
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