Local Florida journo says it's time to 'stop paying attention' to Rebekah Jones in must-read thread

CBS 12 reporter Jay O’Brien in West Palm Beach, Fla. called for people to “stop paying attention” to former data scientist Rebekah Jones and her fact-free claims that Florida is undercounting Covid-19 deaths.

“There’s no evidence to support what she’s claimed,” O’Brien tweeted. “Simply none and we’ve all looked”:

The thing about the Rebekah Jones saga: there’s no evidence to support what she’s claimed. Simply none and we’ve all looked.

But, that won’t stop people on Twitter from taking her at her word.

So, this will never truly be over until people just stop paying attention.

— Jay O'Brien (@jayobtv) May 18, 2021

Now if we can only get every other journo to tweet the same thing, that would be great:

Thanks for saying this, Jay. Can you ask other Florida journalists to write articles and tweets saying the same thing? pic.twitter.com/2v78O17JV9

— Max (@MaxNordau) May 18, 2021

We’ll note that some of us have been calling her out for over a year now:

Some of us have been saying this since last year.
While she was getting CNN/MSNBC guest spots I was noting her lone proof was a change of dates for a single day in the state dashboard.
Newspapers across the state have been monitoring the state data with no reports of fraud. https://t.co/rrjQe5RRuu

— Brad Slager – Focused On Lasers (@MartiniShark) May 18, 2021

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But the replies to his thread show just how committed libs are to this conspiracy theory:

The replies to this thread are certifiable. No clue how Jay is keeping his cool with some of them https://t.co/Y8vttmkM4O

— Chris (@LivemusicCJ) May 18, 2021

O’Brien responded to a few of them:

Below are a few responses re this story that I thought I’d share here so I don’t have to retype them to others who comment.

Full disclosure: I really enjoy when people engage on Twitter. It means they care about an issue enough to make their voice heard. pic.twitter.com/Zax8kicNak

— Jay O'Brien (@jayobtv) May 18, 2021

Also, for the new people following me regarding my Jones tweet, thanks! But, I’ve been here before— oftentimes a lot of you unfollow when our reporting similarly holds Governor DeSantis accountable.

We call balls and strikes here.

— Jay O'Brien (@jayobtv) May 18, 2021

We believe the phrase is, “fact don’t care about your feelings”:

One more for this thread because I’ve seen a lot of people talk about how this story “feels true.”

Also, I’m always one for a @StephenAtHome reference. https://t.co/yYtpPXgsFT

— Jay O'Brien (@jayobtv) May 18, 2021

“Jay gets it”:

Jay gets it.

There is one question here, and everything else is a distraction: Did the Florida Department of Health falsify the number of cases and deaths?

Answer: No. https://t.co/jchIG6e0KS

— Max (@MaxNordau) May 19, 2021

***

Related:

Gov. DeSantis' press secretary calls out Jake Tapper over Rebekah Jones https://t.co/jjtYfhPeau

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 19, 2021

Receipt-filled thread highlights MANY edits Rebekah Jones made to her piece trashing Charles C.W. Cooke and HIS piece (YEAH, he got under her skin) https://t.co/tghk8ciqzQ

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 19, 2021