EXCLUSIVE: Oxford Eagle Exposed for Biased Reporting, False Narratives, and Ethical Evasion

By Matthew Reardon, Journalist & Civil Rights Advocate

Oxford, Mississippi — In a chilling display of selective journalism, The Oxford Eagle—a local paper once tasked with informing the public—has revealed itself to be nothing more than a propagandist mouthpiece for power, influence, and institutional control. Despite ample evidence of gross civil rights violations and the Circuit court’s January 21, 2025 ruling that vacated my prison sentence, The Oxford Eagle has deliberately refused to report this critical update. Their silence speaks volumes.

For years, The Oxford Eagle has painted me, Matthew Reardon, as a lawless agitator—publishing story after story about my charges, my arrests, and my exile from Lafayette County. But when a court of law declared my incarceration unlawful and vacated the sentence, The Oxford Eagle had no interest in sharing that fact with the public. They were contacted. They were informed. And they chose to say nothing.

This is not just irresponsible. It is weaponized omission.

The public depends on journalists to report facts—not just the ones that confirm a preexisting narrative. When a newspaper intentionally buries exculpatory information that contradicts its earlier reporting, it transforms from watchdog to accomplice. The Oxford Eagle’s refusal to inform its readers of a lawful vacatur issued by the court is a dereliction of duty and a direct affront to the principles of press integrity.

Let us be clear: this was not an oversight. The Oxford Eagle was provided with ample documentation, legal orders, and a formal request for correction. They declined to acknowledge it. That choice exposes a dangerous editorial bias that casts doubt on every article they’ve published—not just about me, but about any person who finds themselves at odds with the local establishment.

To their editors, it seems that truth is optional, and propaganda is policy.

This isn’t just about one man’s story. It’s about systemic injustice. The Eagle’s failure to publish a court-verified reversal of a conviction signals to every citizen that if the truth doesn’t suit the powerful, it may never be told. When the press protects power instead of the people, we no longer have a free press—we have state-sponsored suppression.

As a Marine Corps veteran and a constitutional rights activist, I took an oath to defend this nation from enemies both foreign and domestic. When the institutions designed to check government overreach become complicit in that overreach, it is not only my right to speak out—it is my duty.

The Oxford Eagle has had every opportunity to restore credibility. Instead, they have doubled down on silence. That silence now serves as damning evidence of their ethical decay.

To the citizens of Lafayette County and beyond: You deserve better. You deserve a press that doesn’t just follow power but questions it. You deserve the truth.

And to The Oxford Eagle—if you won’t report the truth, We The People will.

Editor’s Note: All court records verifying the vacated sentence are available upon request.

This article is part of an ongoing investigative series by We The People News entitled “Silence of Injustice: How Local Media Colludes with Corruption.” And trust me, there is more of it than you can imagine!