Thread by @jhaskinscabrera

I want to take a few minutes to take down a garbage article in the Palm Beach Post about @GovRonDeSantis. I'm doing this mainly to give you tools for analyzing similar articles.

1/15

gainesville.com/story/news/202…

The main point in the headline is that "criticism mounts." So the PBP and their like-minded newspapers are all reporting about each others' critical stories to build a narrative that DeSantis is a terrible governor.

2/15

This article only showed that death reporting changed after the @HealthyFla announcement on October 21 that they would be instituting additional review on deaths. They produced no evidence that it was related to the election or that it was directed by DeSantis.

3/15

The media criticism "came on the heels" of an FDLE investigation prompted by the unauthorized use of an FDOH messaging system that was traced to Rebekah Jones' IP address. Funny how they don't mention that part.

4/15

Note the diversion here. They can't argue against the assertion that the virus isn't readily transmitted in bars and restaurants, so they pivot to "health officials have said" that they "turn into nightclubs after hours."

5/15

No mention here that testing is at levels NEVER before seen or that cases were flat for over a month after restaurants fully reopened and only recently reached "levels not seen since July." (Restrictions were lifted on September 25)

6/15

Again, no evidence that restaurants drive transmission. According to PBP, if Cuomo closes restaurants, DeSantis should close restaurants. (All of NY's stats are currently higher per capita than Florida's.)

7/15

Oh, wow, there was a reported "party-like atmosphere" in SEPTEMBER, before restrictions were lifted. Relevance?

8/15

What do we know about the population of Florida? Oh, yeah, it's 3rd in the nation, smaller than - you guessed it - California and Texas.

9/15

Who cares if FDOH social media feeds mentioned COVID? Are Floridians unable to access the excellent FDOH dashboard? And the "questionable science" would be the advice of Bhattacharya, Kulldorff, and Levitt, all very credentialed "experts" who don't happen to agree with PBP.
10/15

These reports present data that is readily available from numerous sources, along with dire warnings about what will happen if we don't lock down. And yet, in spite of ignoring this advice, Florida has not seen the predicted consequences.

11/15

Again, baseless claims because Jones is one of their favored "experts." No mention of why a warrant was approved by a judge to search her home and confiscate her devices.

12/15

No mention of the body cam footage proving that Jones was outside the house while claiming that guns were pointed at her children inside and Jones' own footage showing guns pointed upstairs with no children in sight.

13/15

No, the media made Jones a national cause célèbre

14/15

An opinion from a "political analyst" made it into the headline. But this is a "news" story.

15/15

By the way, if you're arguing back, don't send me links to articles behind paywalls. Send me screenshots of specific evidence that you think is in those articles. I won't respond to links.