On Twitter, the Associated Press’ motto is “advancing the power of facts, globally.” That slogan assumes the AP has gathered the facts in advance.
On Thursday, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign roasted the AP for failing to get the facts part right.
On Wednesday, Gov. DeSantis issued a tweet noting that a bridge connecting the mainland to Pine Island, the largest barrier island off Florida’s Gulf coast, had been rebuilt and reopened within three days after being destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
DeSantis heralded the occasion with a video of a convoy of Publix trucks rolling over the bridge.
On Thursday, the AP fired off its own tweet with a video indicating the bridge was still out of commission. The AP also filed a story on Wednesday that said “small motorboats” were the only way to get to the island. Oddly, the story was written by a reporter in Minneapolis.
DeSantis’ campaign team quickly jumped on the AP for its reporting. The AP responded Thursday afternoon by deleting its tweet and offering an explanation.
“A temporary bridge has been installed to reconnect Pine Island, the largest barrier island off Florida’s Gulf Coast, with the mainland. (AP deleted a tweet sent Thursday that included a video from Wednesday before the temporary bridge was installed.)”
“Today, @AP tweeted out a *completely false* story about SWFL, fabricated by a ‘reporter’ in Minneapolis who hasn’t gone near Florida since Hurricane Ian,” DeSantis campaign spokeswoman Christina Pushaw tweeted Thursday night. “After getting ratioed, AP deleted it. These are the self-appointed ‘fact checkers’ who want to censor you for ‘disinformation.’”
DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin added that the story that went with the correction was “still not accurate.”
“Florida National Guardsmen were also bringing supplies in by helicopter – First Lady [Casey DeSantis] even helped unload. No mention of completion timeline on bridge or all the state and local responders that came together around the clock to build,” Griffin noted with photos of the first lady on Pine Island on Monday.
Pushaw added, “American Pravda [AP]: Your days of lying with impunity to attack conservatives and demoralize Americans by forcing absurd propaganda on us are over. We are now holding you accountable and will continue to do so. Zero access for propagandists, only debunking. Time to get used to it.”
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