NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The shocking picture started showing up on social media last October.
Its goal was to attack and intimidate NewsChannel 5's chief investigative reporter, Phil Williams.
"Someone texted me and said, 'Have you seen this stuff they are putting out about you?'" Williams remembered.
It was an image of Williams in blackface.
"The image this person used of me in blackface was created by one of the white supremacists we had been investigating," Williams said.
It was posted as Williams covered the controversial campaign of Gabrielle Hanson, who was running for mayor of Franklin.
When she showed up at a candidates forum, Phil revealed she was being escorted by white supremacists - including a man who described himself as an "actual literal Nazi."
Williams attempted to ask Hanson about the people escorting her, "Ms. Hanson, the people you are with have described themselves as literal Nazis. Is this the type of people you should be associating with? They have said they are literal Nazis."
Hanson did not respond.
Shortly after that, a Mom for Liberty activist posted the picture of Williams in blackface - along with a bizarre story that he once paid an elderly black janitor $10 a day to start his car because he worried there might be a bomb inside.
"My reaction, I guess was what have we come to, the fact that someone would just make up stuff like that?" Williams said.
"It was just amazing to me that I was investigating white supremacists and then they would try to manufacture this story that says, 'Oh well, he's worse than we are.'"
John Silva with the nonpartisan, educational nonprofit News Literacy Project, said misinformation is not new, but social media makes it easier to spread — and easier to attack legitimate sources of information.
NewsChannel 5 and its parent company Scripps, are partnering with the News Literacy Project to help people spot misinformation and identify how it is weaponized.
"People are using misinformation to push their own beliefs and to discredit others," Silva said.
"What they are trying to do on one level is erode trust in journalism and news organizations and journalists."
That's exactly what Gabrielle Hanson tried to do when she went on the podcast of a supporter and falsely implied Williams was being paid by an outside source to do the reports on her.
"I look at it as a paid advertorial," Hanson said on the podcast. "I'm not sure who is paying for it, but it's an advertorial format."
Williams responded, "I think in her case it was a way to say, 'Don't pay attention. He's getting paid. He's not really a journalist.' Again, that was 100 percent false."
But the series of reports led to more than misinformation. Williams also received physical threats.
"One day I checked my voicemail, I had a recording from a person saying you are an enemy of the people and you must be eradicated," Williams said.
There were also threats on-line.
One stated, "We are watching You, Phil... Always watching, always listening, always near."
Another said, "The Day of the Rope ... is right around the corner."
"You cannot let it discourage you from doing your job because if you do that, then they win. And then the next person is going to try and the next person," Williams said.
John Silva with the News Literacy Project said this is not just a dangerous time for journalists but for everyone.
When people feel overwhelmed by too much information, they tune out and stop paying attention.
"The more we are bombarded with this, the more we are like, 'Stop! I've had enough," Silva said.
He said people need reliable information more than ever.
And this is not the time to tune out but to be intentional about where you get your information.
Voters turned out in record numbers and soundly defeated Hanson following Williams' reports.
He said despite the attacks and threats he never thought about walking away.
"My job, my determination is I'm just going to ride it out because I'm not going to let them win by just making horrific, false attacks against me," Williams said.
The News Literacy Project's website has many resources to help teachers, students, and anyone interested.
It can be found at newslit.org.
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-Carrie Sharp
