MATOAKA, W.Va. — A few weeks ago, a Twitter antagonist with the ironic name “FactsChaser” posted a TikTok video of someone driving through this tiny Mercer County coal patch with a caption designed not to educate, but instead provoke.
“Funny how many who like to criticize the ‘homeless’ in San Francisco never show footage of West Virginia / Appalachia” it read. The video shows derelict and collapsing buildings.
“Let’s get the obvious out of the way first,” said Greg Puckett, who grew up not far from here and who now serves as one of Mercer County commissioners. “Comparing San Francisco, a center of wealth and power with a population of 900,000 to Matoaka, an unincorporated town whose glory days ended over 40 years ago, is a straw man argument made to sell hype.”
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