FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA — Legacy media outlets continue to push misleading and blatantly false information regarding library books in Florida public schools.
On Tuesday, several national media outlets pounced on a story from the Miami Herald about a K-8 school in Miami-Dade county that age-restricted a poem read at President Biden’s inauguration. Many of the outlets claimed that the book had been banned.
Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb was removed from elementary school libraries, but remains available to middle school students.
THE BOOK BAN HOAX
The media has repeatedly conflated “bans” with age-restrictions placed on library books that are paid for by taxpayer dollars. Pundits have even alleged that the state doesn’t want students to learn African American history.
In February, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell fabricated a quote from the governor claiming he said “slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren.” One week later, CBS’ Michelle Miller declared that the state had removed a book for “having a black character” – another false statement issued by a member of the press.
On March 8, Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference exposing pornographic books found in Florida school libraries and debunked inaccurate media coverage on the subject.
“There is a concerted effort to bring some of this sexualization into the classroom, particularly in some of these young grades,” DeSantis said. “How is that an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars?”
The Herald’s report on Tuesday stated that the DeSantis administration calls “book removal efforts are a ‘hoax.’” In reality, the governor’s office refers to the “book ban hoax,” because the state has not sought to ban any books.
National Media Peddle More Fake News of Book Bans in Florida (theflstandard.com)
