Florida’s Top 5 Fake News Reporters for 3/27-4/3
Florida’s Conservative Voice Presents Florida’s Top 5 Fake News Reporters of the Week: Every week, FCV will rank the worst reporters covering Florida politics. Our team, and readers, have noticed a stark uptick of fake news “journalists” that are consistently lying or misleading the public on Florida affairs in politics, ranging from Governor Ron DeSantis to COVID-19. In an effort to promote more journalistic integrity, these individuals will be cited for their attempts to mislead the public.
5. Eric Lutz (Vanity Fair)
Lutz said in an article that Governor Ron DeSantis is “threatening” Disney with regulations because it spoke out against Florida’s so-called “anti-LGBT” law, H.B. 1557, Parental Rights in Education.
“DeSantis, pissed that the major Florida employer is against his “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is threatening to revoke those privileges,” he claimed.
Disney was granted its own effective county and city governments under the Reedy Creek Improvement Act of 1967. Normally, it would be part of both Orange and Osceola County in Central Florida. Some lawmakers, however, have floated the notion of revisiting the company’s status, like Florida State Representative Spencer Roach (R).
DeSantis only commented of the possibility after asked about it – and, in fact, on principle, DeSantis said that, “I don’t think we should have special privileges in the law at all.” Calling this a “threat” from DeSantis is invariably false.
4. Fabiola Santiago (Miami Herald)
It’s time to bring Fabiola back onto the list!
“Florida GOP threatens Disney over pro-gay stance. What a vindictive bunch!,” she exclaimed in a new opinion article.
The worst part of this article is the first paragraph: “Looks like Mickey Mouse is too gay-accepting for the political tastes of Gov. DeSantis and Florida’s GOP leaders.”
Yes, you read that right: wanting to teach 5 year-olds about sex is “gay-accepting.” The idea that DeSantis is threatening Disney has been debunked.
This was, indeed, uploaded on April 1st, but was not an April Fools joke.
3. Chris Cillizza (CNN)
Now, left-wing media has shifted their smears of DeSantis: his actions are no longer the fault of some ‘authoritarian’ or ‘fascist’ motive, but Fox News.
“Ron DeSantis is the Fox News candidate for president,” the article is headlined.
“Primetime hosts like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham dedicated portions of their shows to blasting Disney for allegedly giving in to the “woke” forces in the country,” he said. “It’s just the latest example of DeSantis taking cues — and marching orders — from Fox News.”
“On everything from Covid-19 mitigation measures (or a lack thereof) to critical race theory to the mental acuity of President Joe Biden, DeSantis has used Fox as both a guidepost and an amplifier of where to stand on these issues.”
The one true part about Cillizza’s claims is that DeSantis does use Fox as an “amplifier” – that’s why media exists?
However, it is clear that DeSantis is breaking from most Republicans on this tendency: he sets the narrative now, and puts the left on defense. H.B. 1557 was introduced by Florida State Representative Joe Harding (R), and later supported by DeSantis when he learned of it. It had nothing to do with Fox – neither did Disney’s outlandish vow to get the law “repealed.”
2. Scott Maxwell (Orlando Sentinel)
Maxwell did not make his claim in an article, but in a tweet, saying that “DeSantis is still an errand boy for Disney and other big biz.”
Yes – publicly going after a once-large contributor of your campaign makes you an “errand boy.”
One other point: while it is true that Disney profits off of Chinese oppression of workers and the local populace, would it not be a good thing that the money made, if it is being made at all, is used to go after that very practice? DeSantis could survive without the $100,000 or so donation from Disney (he raises millions over just one month), but even so – he is using their own weapons against them.
1. Charles M. Blow (New York Times)
In a viral New York Times column, Blow said that “DeSantis is Trump 2.0.” However, the best part about the piece is that he was forced to issue a correction after lying about DeSantis’ “STOP WOKE Act,” which bans employer training and school education or certification on the basis of teaching Floridians that they need to be guilty for actions committed by members of their race, gender, etc.
Initially, Blow said that the bill would outlaw a lesson that simply makes a person feel guilt in general – a blatantly false statement.
It was then corrected after backlash:
The New York Times is supposed to be a ‘prestigious’ and ‘elite’ media outlet, yet they somehow cannot even read the summary of a state law?
