(Headline USA) Teachers union boss Randi Weingarten admitted this week to spreading disinformation about conservative legislation.
Weingarten shared a tweet over the weekend posted by an account called “Freesus Patriot” that claimed Florida has banned books such as To Kill a Mockingbird and A Wrinkle in Time.
“I’m not going to say where this list came from due to protecting sources but if this list is wrong then I invite @RonDeSantisFL to publicly state the books on this list will not be banned in Florida schools & he intends to protect student’s rights. I will take it down if he does,” the account tweeted.
Weingarten shared the tweet and its fake list of banned books and said, “Books we have taught for generations!!!!!”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s press secretary Bryan Griffin quickly pointed out that the accusation was false.
“The state of Florida has not banned ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’” he said. “In fact, Florida RECOMMENDS the book in 8th grade.”
False. The State of Florida has not banned To Kill a Mockingbird. In fact, Florida RECOMMENDS the book in 8th grade. (FL Standards linked, page 160). However, the book was banned by a progressive district in California, along with other classics, in 2020).https://t.co/5JQelH8XZK https://t.co/E5qPBQPhsn pic.twitter.com/OAVderItxD
— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) August 21, 2022
Weingarten admitted in a follow-up tweet on Monday that the list of “banned books” she shared was fake.
“I should have double checked before I retweeted this list. My bad. Looks like some of the books weren’t banned,” she said.
I should have double checked before I retweeted this list. My bad. Looks like some of the books weren’t banned. Book bans are very real & dangerous. For an accurate list go to red, wine & blue https://t.co/ohR4ntMYZW & pen america https://t.co/r5AZbNgoTQ pic.twitter.com/AU3F5E9BaP
— Randi Weingarten ☮️🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@rweingarten) August 22, 2022
She then shared two “accurate” lists of books that have been “banned,” including links to both.
