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‘Doxing’ by former official was wrong

If it was not clear previously that West Virginia Republicans made the right decision in rejecting Mike Folk’s candidacy for governor, Folk himself made his unfitness for the office plain last week.

Upset over Gov. Jim Justice’s actions regarding COVID-19 — and probably still angry he lost badly to Justice in the Republican primary election — Folk used Facebook and Twitter to make the governor’s personal cell phone number public.

Justice was right about the stunt. It was “absolutely childish.”

Worse than that, as Justice pointed out, it made the governor’s job — and those of people who had his number because they sometimes must contact him quickly — more difficult. During the deadly epidemic raging now, serious ramifications could result.

Making private information public as Folk did is referred to as “doxing.” The practice has virtually no redeeming value.

It does in this case, however: It makes it clear Folk should never, ever be elected to a post of responsibility in our state.

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