PolitiFact Slams DeSantis Press Secretary for ‘Harassment,’ She Slams Back

PolitiFact Florida, which is based in Florida, picked up a fight against Christina Pushaw who works as the press secretary to Florida’s governor. Ron DeSantis, and she didn’t shrink from the fight.

PolitiFact editor Angie Drobnic Holan wrote a fundraising piece titled “PolitiFact reporters face online harassment; we keep fact-checking anyway.“ It was all bragging about their courageous “fact checking,” and she linked to a Donate page: 

Our readers are a great source of comfort in times of cyberattacks. Many of them support us financially with monthly donations. Many of them share our reports and comment publicly on how much they value our work. Some people send us simple support messages via email and social media. For civil and fact-based expression, we are available to assist you.

Holan stated that Dan Bongino was one of the primary targets. Holan said that his main points of attack are conspiracy theories that the 2020 elections were stolen as well attacks on COVID-19 protection measures, such as masking. It’s not really a surprise that he hates fact-checkers; he’s said it’s an insult to be called a journalist.” She then added: 

It is even more alarming that Bongino has been encouraged and supported by an older figure, the press secretary of the governor. Christina Pushaw may be unfamiliar to people outside Florida politics. Rather than responding to journalists’ press inquiries in a standard manner, Pushaw will attack them on Twitter, urging online mobs to vilify things that are legitimate practices of journalism. She tells others not to respond to our requests for comment and has falsely suggested that reporters said things they didn’t. 

The PolitiFact boss added: “When the government itself tries to delegitimize journalists, it’s a warning sign that they may soon take more concrete steps against independent journalism….The actions of these anti-journalism forces are deeply concerning to everyone who cares about the independent practice of fact-finding.”

They’re “independent.” If you oppose them, then you are “anti-journalism.” These are their “Facts”

Christina Pushback was Pushaw 

Now it is “harassment” for you to say that an email from the reporter shows incompetence or bias.

However, these reporters are able to baselessly accuse my boss every day of worse with zero support and no pushback from their editors.

No, that’s not what we do. https://t.co/aBN5d4jCZt pic.twitter.com/Tul4zUPpNN

— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) June 13, 2022

Partisan militants who pretend to be journalists degrade their profession and make it less legitimate. https://t.co/k0OoT0DYeY

— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) June 13, 2022

PolitiFact cannot handle the notion that there is a problem with selection bias. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla. has had 166 fact-checks due to his run for the presidency in part. Val Demings is his expected Democrat opponent. three. 

We can also revisit a comparison I posted a few weeks back, DeSantis vs. some Democrat Governors.

PolitiFact Targeting
DeSantis: 34 facts checks (19 Most False, or Worse)
vs.
Gretchen Whitmer – 1 Mostly True
Jay Inslee: Four fact checks that are Mostly True
Kate Brown: Kate Brown has 2 facts checked, 1 False, 1 Most True
John Bel Edwards: One True, One Mostly True
Andy Beshear – None
Ned Lamont: None https://t.co/l9uswiyBC6

— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) May 5, 2022