Sedgwick County communications asks commission to expand Meltwater monitoring to counter misinformation

Nicole Gibbs of Strategic Communications presented a decision package to expand the county's existing Meltwater subscription to more fully centralize monitoring, automate reporting and broaden platform coverage. Gibbs said the upgrade would help the county detect misinformation earlier, improve situational awareness across 48 departments and reduce manual reporting burdens.

"This initiative delivers measurable efficiency gains while reducing reputational and operational risks," Gibbs said, explaining the request is framed as an operational efficiency and risk-mitigation investment rather than a discretionary program. She described three tiers of options and asked the commission to consider the top tier (a $24,870 request) to extend the platform's capacity to monitor emerging channels and to enable outreach to local influencers.

Commissioners and staff discussed whether expanded monitoring would address bot-driven misinformation and emphasized the need for rapid corrections when inaccurate reporting appears. One commissioner noted local news errors and urged proactive, real-time responses; Gibbs said the expanded platform would allow staff to detect and respond more quickly.

No formal vote occurred this morning; commissioners expressed support and asked staff to provide additional details and to share slides with commissioners for further review before a final decision.