A Wisconsin county’s conservation committee is voting on a resolution that threatens journalists with criminal prosecution if they do not publish a news release in full without any changes.
The Lafayette County Conservation Committee plans to vote Tuesday on the resolution, according to the Associated Press.
It’s not clear how many committee members support the resolution, which would seek to punish journalists if an upcoming news release about a regional water study is published with alterations.
“Under no circumstances is the media allowed to glean information and selectively report it in order to interpret the results for their own means,” the resolution said.
A recent study by state and federal researchers measuring the levels of contamination in private wells in Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette counties in Wisconsin found 91% of tested wells contained human or livestock fecal matter.
Lafayette County Board member Kriss Marion said county officials felt the reporting on the matter was misconstrued, implying 91% of all wells in the region, instead of just those tested, were contaminated.
The resolution also accuses the media of slandering the region in its reporting. It does not say what laws the news organizations who report the information without printing it in full would be prosecuted under.
