Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), admitted to posting a false tweet that claimed certain books had been banned in Florida on Sunday.
“I should have double-checked before I retweeted that list. Sorry. It appears that some books were not banned. She said that book bans were very real and dangerous. Weingarten also included a screenshot from her original tweet that stated, “Books we’ve taught for generations !!!!!”
An account called “Freesus Patriot” was posted on the list. It claimed that Florida had banned books like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “A Wrinkle in Time”. They also tweeted that they wouldn’t reveal the source of this list.
“I won’t say where this list originated because of protecting sources, but I invite @RonDeSantisFL publicly to state that the books on this list will be allowed in Florida schools. He intends to protect students’ rights. The account tweeted, “I will take it down If he does.”
Social media users responded to Weingarten’s walk back and original tweet. It has since been deleted.
Randi said, “This is a fake list”. Frank Luntz pointed out that there is no link to the source.
Luntz was retorted by Weingarten, who said, “We thought it had been checked.” It was my mistake, and I deleted …”
Weingarten was reelected in July to continue her leadership of the AFT, marking her eighth term as president.
That list is fake, Randi.
Notice that there’s no link to a source for it.— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) August 21, 2022
Weingarten responded to another tweet, pointing out that the “made up” list was incorrect and saying that she should have “double-checked”.
This is just a completely made up list of books?
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) August 21, 2022
Weingarten also provided links to two “accurate lists” of books that were banned, which she shared with her followers.
Randi sorta walks it back.
That being said, states get to decide what books are included in their curriculum. It’s not up to unions. https://t.co/tLpaEDw3BK
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) August 22, 2022
Mairead Elordi wrote, “Nice one,” as an investigative reporter for the Daily Wire.
Nice one https://t.co/Odf4q0MNCn
— Mairead Elordi (@JohnsonHildy) August 22, 2022
then delete the tweet. https://t.co/etcKPiSZlG
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 22, 2022
Gov. Bryan Griffin, Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.’s press secretary, responded to a tweet by “A Worried Citizen” that stated, “Florida bans Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Griffin claimed that the claim was “completely falsified.”
“The State of Florida does not ban To Kill a Mockingbird”. He wrote that Florida actually RECOMMENDS the book for 8th grade.
Florida bans the Pulitzer Prize winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” from its schools. When I was kid, this book was on our required reading list and triggered my interest in the law.
— A Worried Citizen (@ThePubliusUSA) August 21, 2022
Washington’s school board removed the book from its curriculum after receiving complaints about it being racially insensitive.
