I first heard of DoBetterDNVR from my now-fiancée, who started sending me Instagram reels about a year and a half ago — clips of open drug use, sprawling homeless camps and other vivid signs of Denver in decay.

At first, it seemed like other accounts that spotlight local chaos on social media platforms — like I70 Things; I’m From Denver, or DenverToday_.

But DoBetterDNVR has a public policy edge. On Instagram and X, its short videos, commentaries and informational posts shine a harsh light on the city’s decline while calling on City Hall to, well, do better.

Now, thrust into intensified scrutiny from coverage of it by a mainstream media outlet, the account’s administrator is speaking out — giving her first interview on the controversy.

“I really started to see things changing rapidly,” the administrator, a Denver resident with a different paid job, told me by phone — citing rising crime, public drug use and the city’s mass housing strategy for the homeless, many with substance abuse issues.

For almost two years, her citizen-journalist content has been crowdsourced from hundreds of human sources and disseminated via social media. “How can you show the decay of Denver without video proof?” she said. “It tells a story.”

The admin, who shared her identity with me, requested anonymity for fear of professional reprisals and personal safety. Posting publicly available criminal records and spotlighting gangs like Tren de Aragua has brought her death threats — sometimes from criminals or their families.

I’m respecting the request. The Denver Post didn’t.

Their policy allows anonymity when a reporter knows the source, but they refused DoBetterDNVR’s request. So, she declined an interview.

Even The Federalist Papers were published under the pseudonym “Publius.” Why deny that here? Because the Post’s goal wasn’t to understand the account — it was to expose it.

The Post didn’t name the admin but identified three of her sources. The headline calls out “3 women feeding information” to DoBetterDNVR. The article names them — over their strenuous objections — and even personal details like employment, political affiliation and real estate records.

All three told The Post they don’t run DoBetterDNVR, a fact the admin emphasized to me.

“It was wrong for The Denver Post to insinuate otherwise,” she told me. The sources simply shared videos or documents obtained through the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), which were used in fewer than two dozen of DoBetterDNVR’s 2,400-plus posts — less than 1%.

That’s called doxxing: publishing identifying information, usually with malicious intent.

The three women were targeted, the Post report claimed, because of the account’s “growing influence and the misinformation (DoBetterDNVR) spreads.” The three women in the Post’s crosshairs were identified essentially by CORA’ing their CORAs — digging through public records requests filed with public agencies by others — to unmask critics of City Hall.

That, instead of chasing the real news — the leads those critics have helped expose.

“The Post gets to use anonymous sources, and people don’t think they’ll dox their sources,” the admin said. “But they’re calling me a journalist. So, why are they doxxing my sources?”

Talk about a chilling effect on citizen voices critical of Mayor Mike Johnston.

“The posts are often inflammatory, with tidbits of fact mixed with rumor, speculation and misinformation,” The Post wrote. Yet the news report provides no concrete examples of flagrant misinformation.

Let’s be real: This isn’t straight-news journalism. It’s a witch hunt — a pre-baked narrative, bolstered by handpicked journalism “experts,” to justify the article itself.

DoBetterDNVR never claimed to be a newsroom — just “a conduit for the citizens of Denver to show what’s really happening.” You don’t have to agree with every post to see why citizen journalism like this rattles City Hall.

Even Denver Police stopped responding to the account on X — reportedly with the mayor’s “guidance.” Johnston’s office deemed their content “not solution-oriented.”

“Those who truly wish to see their city do better seek to build others up, not tear them down,” spokesman Jon Ewing patronized.

Since when do politicians get to decide whether someone is sufficiently “solution-oriented?”

In fact, DoBetterDNVR advocates stricter enforcement against public drug use, drug loitering and camping, as well as repealing laws like HB19-1263 (which defelonized hard drugs) and pressing for parole and bond reform. Some changes require state action; others rest with City Hall or the DA’s office.

“These are real, tangible solutions. Handing someone foil to continue smoking drugs is enabling the problem,” she said. “People don’t want to run into some guy smoking meth on the corner who’s naked.”

DoBetterDNVR mostly posts public arrest records and videos saying, “Hey, look at this.” Critics claim that’s doxxing — but when a newspaper covers a jail booking or someone caught on camera, is that doxxing?

“All of the videos are filmed in public spaces,” the admin noted, citing Colorado’s one-party consent law. “Everyone should be mindful of what they’re doing in public. Don’t do drugs. Don’t be naked running down the street.”

Let’s be honest: The attempt to expose DoBetterDNVR reeks of pandering to the Johnston administration. They wouldn’t pull this on a mainstream news outlet. But DoBetterDNVR has no institutional backing, so they’ll bully her and her private-citizen sources with impunity — because they can.

Instead of circling the wagons and shooting the messenger, why not tackle the real issues? As The Denver Gazette reported recently, the city’s overdose deaths are up 20% year-over-year. Yet Denver is diverting opioid settlement money to a “harm reduction” website. Violent crime is up in downtown’s District 9. Public illegal drug use remains rampant.

There’s no shortage of urban woes. So why aren’t all Denver media laser-focused on solving those problems — as The Denver Gazette is — instead of ganging up on social media accounts that expose them?

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.