Missourians, whether they support or oppose Gov. Eric Greitens' agenda, deserve transparency and openness from their top elected official.
The question of whether Greitens should turn over public records requested from his Facebook and Twitter accounts ultimately may be a freedom of speech issue for the courts.
We won't wait, however, to opine in the court of public opinion: The governor should consider anything published on his social media accounts as public records.
Sarah Madden, Greitens' attorney, argues the governor created those accounts before taking office in January, and they are not the governor's official accounts, making them exempt from state open-records laws.
We believe two factors triggered the requirement for them to be public records: Greitens' inauguration and the fact public policy is discussed on the sites. When Eric Greitens, the Missouri resident, started the social media accounts, their contents - like all ordinary residents' - were not public records.
When he became governor and when the accounts started talking about the state's business, we believe that changed.
The issue came up when the Columbia Missourian tried to find out the number of users blocked from the governor's Facebook and Twitter accounts and obtain copies of his direct messages. Blocking users on Facebook and Twitter restricts their ability to see and interact with account contents.
The Associated Press reported the Missourian sought the information after Missouri resident Patsy Roach, 54, told the newspaper she was blocked from Greitens' Facebook account, after commenting with a puking emoji in response to one of his posts about a new right-to-work law banning mandatory union fees in Missouri. Greitens signed the measure in February.
We agree there are more civil and productive ways to comment on public policy than by using a puking emoji. But, absent foul language or threats, the governor shouldn't block Missourians from his social media accounts simply because he disagrees with what they said about something he already had said.
He needs to have thicker skin and let his detractors have their say.
Perhaps we're starting to sound like a broken record. We've criticized Greitens for a lack of openness in the past - from his connections to dark money to his unwillingness to regularly answer questions from the press.
On behalf of Missourians, we renew our request for transparency.