Critics who have suggested that the media-fueled hysteria that hospitals are being overwhelmed due to COVID is based on exaggerated numbers had their suspicions validated with the stunning admission by a major Texas news organization that the number of children it had reported hospitalized was grossly overinflated.
The Texas Tribune falsely informed readers that 5,800 children had been hospitalized in the state during the first week of August with either COVID-19 or the highly contagious respiratory syncytial virus, leading the story with the heart-rending tale of an 11-month-old baby who was rushed to the emergency room where she had tubes stuck “down her throat to pump her lungs with oxygen.”
But the article wasn’t true. The Texas Tribune’s report “mistakenly” used the number of children who had been hospitalized since the beginning of the pandemic and was forced to publish a correction with the actual number of 783 kids being admitted to Texas hospitals with COVID since the beginning of July.
Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis pointed out the “heck of a correction” that just dealt a major blow to the media’s credibility on COVID reporting, especially when it comes to the intense focus on Texas and Florida.
That’s one heck of a correction. https://t.co/UBBgV0OXXm pic.twitter.com/uhxkYABwR3
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) August 12, 2021
The erroneous Tribune report was picked up by major media figures including The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin who has advocated for the persecution of “vaccine refusers” and last year called for Republican governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida to be held responsible for COVID deaths.
unconscionable: Over 5,800 children in Texas were newly hospitalized with COVID-19 in the seven-day period ending on Aug. 8, a 37% increase from a week prior. where is the pro-life movement ?? it's now a death cult https://t.co/PzbNk1t4LS via @TexasTribune
— Jennifer 'pro-voting' Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) August 12, 2021
Also taking a big hit in the credibility department was the CDC, which was forced to walk back its numbers on Florida COVID cases after the Sunshine State’s Department of Health called out the hyper-politicized agency for inaccurately reporting that there were 28,317 cases on Sunday, a figure nearly double the actual number and a total that included several days.
“Wrong again,” the DOH tweeted in response to a local media outlet’s reporting on the bogus numbers and publicly urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “correct the record” with the real numbers.
Wrong again. The number of cases @CDCgov released for Florida today is incorrect. They combined MULTIPLE days into one. We anticipate CDC will correct the record. https://t.co/nbKnBNLzvU
— Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) August 10, 2021
The CDC quietly revised the numbers, adjusting them down to 19,000 after haggling with the department but not before the rabidly partisan media whacked DeSantis around like a piñata.
Dr. Shamarial Roberson, who serves as Florida’s Deputy Health Director, discussed the CDC’s misrepresentation when she appeared on “Fox News Primetime” on Wednesday.
“It is very important that data is accurate,” Roberson said. “The people of Florida – they deserve it. We’ve been putting out accurate data since the beginning of the pandemic.”
She added, “It’s very important to us that people know the numbers so that they can respond and it’s important to us that we have the accurate numbers so that our public health professionals can respond.”
Unfortunately in both cases, the damage had already been done by the time that the truth got out with the rabid media using the false numbers to wage war on DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, both of whom have butted heads with the Biden administration.
Such reports have been greatly helpful to those who continue to make the case for mask mandates, compulsory vaccinations, and the creepy Orwellian vaccine passports that are already being implemented in Democrat-controlled areas of the country and are a major reason why millions of Americans have come to distrust the media.
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Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.
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