Not gonna lie … we were pleasantly surprised by the Associated Press’ recent foray into actual journalism with their story about Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman’s record as a lieutenant governor. And, not gonna lie … we didn’t expect for it to take.
It wasn’t very long before the AP went right back to doing what they do best: pure partisan hackery.
Take a look at this tweet:
https://twitter.com/AP/status/1578073600665571329
Notice anything about that tweet? Well, for one thing, the story it links to is was published on October 2:
The largest barrier island off Florida’s Gulf Coast, Pine Island has been largely cut off from the outside world. Ian heavily damaged the only bridge to the island, leaving it only reachable by boat or air. For many, the volunteers from the non-profit Medic Corps were the first people they have seen from outside the island in days.
…
Pine Island has long been known for its quiet, small-town atmosphere and mangrove trees. It’s a popular destination for fishing, kayaking and canoeing. Now, bleak scenes of destruction are everywhere in this shattered paradise.
Houses have been reduced to splinters and boats have been tossed onto roadways. The island has no power, and no running water – save for a few hours on Friday when one resident said they were able to take a shower. A community of mobile homes was destroyed.
One of the problems with tweeting out a story about a natural disaster four days after it was originally published is that a lot can change in those four days. And, in fact, a lot has changed in those four days:
AP publishes a tweet from seven minutes ago about an island whose only bridge to the Florida mainland was destroyed by the hurricane and residents are trapped.
The bridge was fully repaired yesterday. https://t.co/MrFduR4Ebt
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 6, 2022
The bridge was repaired yesterday, you say?
Construction on the Pine Island bridge has been completed today – just three days after construction began.
Happy to have the state step in and help get our Pine Island residents back on their feet. pic.twitter.com/a8GqPoHtP1
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 6, 2022
How interesting.
Hey, @AP… https://t.co/k8QfUT1xfb pic.twitter.com/ljHNEjJUKc
— Amy Curtis (@RantyAmyCurtis) October 6, 2022
Hoping it is repaired? It has been repaired. https://t.co/FHs4lJxkYk
— 🪶𝓝𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓞𝓳𝓲𝓫𝔀𝓪-𝓛𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓮™🪶 (@Miskogwanag) October 6, 2022
If the bridge was repaired yesterday, then why did the AP send out a tweet and a story about Pine Island residents being trapped because there’s no bridge to the mainlan— ah.
You know what they say: AP gonna AP.
Hello @APFactCheck 👋🏼 can you help?????
— Abigail Marone 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) October 6, 2022
Might as well rope PolitiFact into this one. This particular bit of bad journalism is gonna take some extra hands to spin because it’s so obviously terrible.
Any other updates to the Pine Island situation you guys can think of? Anything happen to the bridge worth noting?
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) October 6, 2022
The bridge is repaired. Stop spreading misinformation. https://t.co/Q6uAKZetf1
— Abigail Marone 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) October 6, 2022
DeSantis yesterday: The bridge is fixed and open!
Associated Press today: Residents are still hoping the bridge is repaired soon.
Hacks. pic.twitter.com/JHwhX6nNrt
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) October 6, 2022
What is this? That bridge was completed yesterday. This is fake news.
— Phil (@RealPhillyP) October 6, 2022
I understand, based on your feed, that you don't actually report the news, but since the bridge opened yesterday, you might have at least checked the headlines before posting this.
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) October 6, 2022
Honestly hard to figure out what your job is: https://t.co/9Sq7Lf1d6p
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) October 6, 2022
We know what their job is supposed to be. They just have no interest in actually doing it.
And people wonder why there is falling trust in media/journalism/reporting… @AP pic.twitter.com/rbmcH95V9z
— Will Upton (@wupton) October 6, 2022
The bridge has already been repaired but AP is pushing this fake narrative
This is why the public has lost all faith in journalism https://t.co/gVZncf3K4x
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) October 6, 2022
The public is right to have no faith in journalism. Is the AP incompetent or just lazy? We report, you deride.
DeSantis replaced the bridge faster than you wrote this story.
— Jon Awesome-Best Life (@RealStarMan) October 6, 2022
Maybe DeSantis should take over the AP.
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