Business Insider was forced to issue a correction on Tuesday after falsely reporting that more people were moving out of Florida than California and New York.
The outlet published an article entitled “More people actually moved out of Florida than New York or California in 2021.” According to the piece, 674,740 residents left the state of Florida, eclipsing the total of 433,402 residents leaving California and the 287,249 that had fled New York.
A quick fact check by Twitter users, including members of the DeSantis War Room, revealed that was not the case. Columbia-educated real estate journalist Kelsey Neubauer, in her rush to publish the hit against the Sunshine State, had actually gotten the numbers reversed.
“Business Insider journalist [Kelsey Neubauer] apparently does not know how to read a spreadsheet,” DeSantis adviser Christina Pushaw wrote on Twitter. “That figure — 674,740 — is people who moved TO Florida, not OUT OF Florida.”
Subscribe to Florida Jolt Newsletter!
Business Insider journalist @NeubauerKelsey apparently does not know how to read a spreadsheet.
That figure — 674,740 — is people who moved TO Florida, not OUT OF Florida.
Retraction needed. https://t.co/JTuDt7Ae66
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) July 11, 2023
“Kelsey Neubauer (she/her pronouns) is a Columbia University journalism graduate and … get this… a REAL ESTATE REPORTER. If more people moved OUT of Florida than any other state, please explain why the Florida real estate market is like this….” ~ Christina Pushaw
The fake news report received a serious battering on social media.
“At least they deleted it, but holy sh-t [Business Insider] is beyond trash,” commentator Dave Rubin commented on Twitter.
“Imagine their excitement thinking they had a big scoop. They looked at that Census Bureau population characteristics table and thought, ‘GOT ‘EM!’ Not once did instinct creep in to alert them that there was a reason why this goes against everything said on the topic in 2 years.” ~ Kyle Lamb [@kylamb8]
hahahahhaha pic.twitter.com/EI1jsH0j8T
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) July 11, 2023
Following the backlash online, Business Insider deleted their original tweet and issued a correction on the original article, claiming that they “switched” the numbers. An editor’s note at the top of the page reads,
This story has been updated to correct an error regarding Census data. In 2021, an estimated 469,577 people moved out of Florida, while 674,740 people relocated to the state. An earlier version of the story switched those numbers.
But readers were not buying the explanation. One commenter pointed out a tone shift between the hit piece and the revised article, noting less emphasis on the “scientific” accuracy of the report.
“I gave [Kelsey Neubauer] and [Business Insider] the benefit of the doubt. But this still is a pure hit piece. Look at the cleanup: In the false story the data was a ‘scientific’ estimate from a huge sample. In the retraction; it’s now just an estimate with a large margin of error.” ~ Frog Capital [@FrogNews]
“This has to be one of the best self-owns in recent history,” another user replied. “Those articles side-by-side are priceless.”
I gave @NeubauerKelsey and @BusinessInsider the benefit of the doubt.
But this still is a pure hit piece.
Look at the cleanup:
In the false story the data was a "scientific" estimate from a huge sample.
In the retraction; it's now just an estimate with a large margin of error. https://t.co/vGA3P95a1X pic.twitter.com/OUH7OdZjGf— Frog Capital (@FrogNews) July 11, 2023
Join your fellow patriots and subscribe to our Youtube Channel.
Other stories you may want to read:
FAU Donor Dick Schmidt Lives Up to His Name -Thinks ‘Highly Pedigreed’ Run Public University
Nikki Fried and Florida Dems F-Bomb Everything in Bid to Get Clicks, Not Votes
- House GOP Risks Losing Majority as Members May Target Gaetz Next - December 3, 2023
- DeSantis Rips Newsom For Debate Lies – ‘We Need Truth in This Country’ - December 3, 2023
- #BoycottDisney Trends After Elon Musk Tells CEO Bob Iger ‘Go F**k Yourself’ - December 1, 2023