Texas Blogger Sarah Fields Admits to Publishing Fake News
Botched reporting on a recent story generates hate against Texas woman.
A Texan blogger identified Longview woman Monica Keasler as the culprit behind the death of posthumous national treasure P’Nut, encouraging her followers on X to “make Keasler famous.” It led to vicious harassment. But aspiring reporter Sarah Fields, speaking exclusively to Current Revolt Wednesday, confesses now that she has spread “fake news,” and that she has no idea if Keasler is actually guilty of what she accused her of.
Responding to a complaint, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation seized a sciurine social media star named P’Nut from its owners’ home late last week. The squirrel was euthanized, shocking the nation, and turning the pet and its owner, Mark Longo, into household names. Users across X, formerly known as Twitter, angrily demanded to know who had called in the complaint.
Several large websites reported that the state had received “multiple anonymous complaints.” But Sarah Fields, a Texas-based, self-identifying “citizen journalist” with over 250,000 followers on X, went further, naming Keasler and encouraging readers to spread her name far and wide.
Fields went even further, identifying Keasler’s business and the city she resides in, garnering 17 million views and 38,000 shares on a post since humiliatingly deleted but which led to an online witch hunt. Yet, in a recorded interview with Current Revolt, Fields admitted she has no idea if Keasler is guilty and confessed that her reporting was “fake news.”
Sarah Fields published first, and only after accusing Monica Keasler did she begin what she is calling an “investigation.”
This isn’t the first time Fields has wrongly identified an innocent member of the public. In fact, she has screwed up no fewer than three stories of national importance in just the past thirty days. Earlier this month, Fields wrongly fingered another Texan, Jordan Bowen, as the deranged woman at a Kamala Harris rally caught on camera screaming at a baby.
Fields told Current Revolt she has never apologized to Bowen for falsely accusing her, and has no plans to do so, because she “couldn’t find her contact information.” Current Revolt found Bowen’s number in public records within sixty seconds of searching.
Current Revolt can also reveal today that Bowen and her family also received hateful messages and threats from Field’s hoax reporting. As of yesterday, members of the public were still claiming that Bowen was the subject of the notorious viral video.
When it came to Monica Keasler, Fields assured readers that she had learned her lesson, and that there was no doubt Keasler was the culprit. There was just one problem: Fields didn’t have a shred of proof, and hadn’t even investigated the case herself, nor reached out for comment, before naming Keasler, who runs an animal sanctuary and has since, it is said, lawyered up.
To wrongly identify one Texan woman as a national hate figure may be regarded as a misfortune. To wrongly identify two looks like carelessness. Because that’s what it was: Sarah Fields publishes first, and investigates later.
Unfortunately for Monica Keasler, the damage has been done. Keasler’s full address had been posted on X, and people were posting death threats, threats to her business, and inciting others to ruin her life. Fields possibly faces legal liability for her inaccurate reporting on Monica Keasler.
A small gallery of the threats directed toward Keasler (click to view larger):
We reached out to Keasler (something Fields should have done before accusing her) to ask her side of the story. After several days of reaching out, Keasler finally texted us back and said that the post by Fields had affected every facet of her life. She stated that people had begun to send random deliveries to her door late at night, and she was concerned about her safety and that of her children. We had a scheduled call for the next day, but Keasler would then cease communication. Presumably because Fields was now in contact with her.
We then reached out to Sarah Fields for comment on her recent reporting.
Regarding Monica Keasler and the squirrel story, Fields told us that she made the post accusing Keasler even though she wasn’t 100% sure Keasler was guilty. Fields explained that her “editor” and boss for an organization she wrote for assured her the story was real. We confirmed that the organization she claims she writes for doesn’t currently exist, and there is no actual boss or editor under which she is employed.
Fields admitted she made claims first and “investigated” later, which many we spoke to defined as grossly irresponsible journalism. Although Fields describes herself as a journalist, Current Revolt is declining to refer to her as one based on her shoddy reporting and work.
Fields would later delete her post accusing Monica Keasler of the squirrel incident. Coincidentally, this was after the post received a community note by X users confirming her reporting contained fake news. The post she made would lose all revenue it generated for her.
For those unaware, Sarah Fields is monetized on X and receives payments monthly based on the amount of interactions her posts receive. When a post on X receives a community note, that post becomes ineligible for revenue.
Fields told us that she was in touch with Keasler and had been talking to her “every day” for the past several days and that they were “working together to try and clear her name.”
The situation Monica Keasler is in with Sarah Fields is rather interesting. Fields’ is one of the larger accounts whose posts (17 million views) led to the doxxing and harassment of Keasler, and now Fields is the only person in contact with Keasler to clear her name. A sort of Stockholm syndrome situation, it seems. Fields told us she would tell Keasler to reach out to Current Revolt. We have yet to hear from Keasler.
Activists and politicians in Texas we spoke to were aware of Sarah Fields pattern of reporting fake-news. Many told us that they no longer believed her to be a credible source of information due to her consistent reporting of inaccurate information.
Fields assured us she was still “investigating” the accusations made against Monica Keasler to help her clear her name. She said she would not be making a public apology or issuing a formal retraction until her “investigation” is complete.
Fields is a public figure who has amassed over a quarter million followers on X. We looked into the organization she claims she is president of, but it no longer exists.
Fields gave us the following statement:
…I understand that the things that have happened recently are going to hurt my reputation in Texas Legislation and I’m going to actively and humbly work to fix it. - Sarah Fields
We asked Sarah Fields if Monica Keasler had mentioned that she was seeking legal recourse. Fields confidentially told us “no” and that Keasler told her she was not going to sue. We wonder if Keasler is aware of the extent of the responsibility that Fields shares in the hate and threats she’s receiving. As of this time, Fields is the only “journalist” in direct communication with Keasler.
Ugh. One doubts Fields has enough money to be worth suing. This is the journalistic equivalent of being rear-ended by a driver without insurance.
Too bad. Citizen journalism is the backbone of grassroots activism. When credibility is lost, it's very difficult to reestablish.