The far-left Business Insider website on Tuesday acknowledged in a headline, “We got it wrong,” in claiming that more people moved out of Florida than either New York or California, based on U.S. Census Bureau data.
As The Blaze noted in reporting on the snafu, “After several hours the entire article had to be re-written, and a correction was issued.” That came after blowback from conservatives, including some close to Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The original story remained posted on Business Insider India on Tuesday night.
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The opening paragraphs read, “During the pandemic, sunny Florida was a hot spot for movers looking for beautiful weather year-round and lax pandemic restrictions. But while newcomers were hoping to get a piece of paradise, Floridians were moving out, newly released Census data shows.”
“An estimated 674,740 people reported their permanent address changed in 2021 from Florida to another state, according to the data. That’s more than any other state, including New York or California — the two states that have gotten the most attention for outbound migration during the pandemic. The dataset, which was released in June, tracked state-to-state migration through responses to the American Community Survey that year.”
Insider added, “Floridians were moving out because of extreme heat and the rising cost of living — driven in part by new residents.”
“The data also undercuts the narrative that people are leaving states like New York and California more disproportionately than other highly populated states,” the website added. “The data shows that these states are just not seeing the inbound migration to counteract the number of those moving out.”
Insider did not cite data to support that. But the actual Census Bureau report exposed the falsehood of that claim.
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California reported losing roughly 408,000 residents, while about 284,000 New Yorkers flaked their previous homes.
After the criticism gushed in, Insider’s revised story opened with: “During the pandemic, sunny Florida was a hot spot for movers looking for beautiful weather year-round and lax COVID-related restrictions. Fresh data shows the scale of that move. More people moved into Florida in 2021 than any other state, recently released Census data shows.”
Among the critics highlighting the massive goof, according to The Blaze, were some working for or with DeSantis.
“Oof, that’s gonna be a retraction,” tweeted Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis’ press secretary. “I made sure to email [the reporter’s] boss’ boss’ boss.”
“I am not sure what their editorial process is at @thisisinsider — but an error of this magnitude obviously should have been caught by an editor well before publication. This calls into question the accuracy of all their real estate reporting,” added Christina Pushaw, the rapid response director for DeSantis.
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