Mind Uncharted Explore. Discover. Learn.
Stephen King’s Misinformation about Florida Education
Author Stephen King’s tweet about Florida students and professors registering political views with the state went viral, but it was false. King is known for horror and fiction, and this tweet wasn’t his forte. Snopes, PolitiFact, VerifyThis, and The Associated Press found King’s tweet to be false, as traced back to a Salon article that wrongly advanced the narrative. Later, King deleted the tweet and expressed regret.
But this incident shows how much “horror fiction” is being spread about Florida education. Here are some examples:
- Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC broadcasted that Governor DeSantis didn’t want slavery to be taught to Florida students, but she later retracted her statement and apologizes for being imprecise.
- American Federation of Teachers’ Randi Weingarten retweeted that Governor DeSantis banned classic book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, but Florida actually includes this book on its recommended readings for 8th graders. Florida removed books with explicit material.
- Recent bills introduced to expand Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, that prohibits public schools from teaching K-3 students about gender ideology and human sexuality, are labeled as “Don’t Say Gay” laws.
Comedian Bill Maher says that opponents of Governor DeSantis are out of touch and calls Parental Rights in Education Act the “Let’s do things in schools the way we did five years ago” law.
Despite all the criticism, Governor DeSantis refuses to be shaken by all the misinformation circulating about Florida education. He is unshaken by the “horror fiction” being spread and defends his actions.
William Mattox is the director of the Marshall Center for Educational Options at The James Madison Institute in Tallahassee, Fla.
