MetropolisPlanet.com has been serving Massac County, Illinois, since at least 1998, which is a strong mark in its favor for a local news site. Most legitimate community news outlets don't have that kind of track record. That said, the site currently returns a 451 error to visitors from the European Union, citing GDPR, and it lacks a standard privacy policy and terms of service page. For a news site that's not collecting payments or sensitive data, missing legal pages is a moderate concern rather than a dealbreaker, but it does mean the site isn't fully transparent.
On the technical side, the site uses strong security protections, has working contact information, and links to social media. If you're looking for local news about Metropolis, Illinois, this site appears to be the real thing — just be aware that it's not fully forthcoming about who runs it or how it handles your data. For a local news outlet, the biggest risk is less about scams and more about whether the reporting is reliable. The lack of an About page makes it harder to assess editorial independence, but the long domain history suggests this isn't a fly-by-night operation.