Video of the Day: CNN Propagandist ‘Fredo’ Cuomo Spreads Debunked Anti-DeSantis Conspiracy Theory

Joe NewbyMay 25, 2020

0 263 6 minutes read

There’s several reasons I call them propagandists, instead of “journalists,” and this is just one of the latest examples. On Friday, CNN propagandist Chris “Fredo” Cuomo brought on Rebekah Jones, a disgruntled former Florida Department of Health employee who was recently fired by the DeSantis administration for, one source says, “performance issues … And her extensive criminal history, which predates her employment in Florida…”

According to Jones, the DeSantis administration is lying about its coronavirus numbers.

Newsbusters Alex Kristy reported:

Cuomo asked Jones, “Do me two favors, one let’s keep it out of the weeds because data stiff gets dense really fast and let’s name no names because I haven’t had chance to get responses from all the players. Alright, so to be fair. So the simple question is, what exactly were you asked to do that was so unusual and improper, and in your opinion wrong?”

Jones responded by alleging that the numbers were altered to justify the pre-determined desire to reopen. In reality, the actual scientists, the ones CNN is always telling us to listen to, wanted to make sure it was accurate.

Later, as the segment came to an end, Cuomo asked Jones, “Would you want to go back there?” Jones replied, “No, not unless there is a change in leadership. No.” Of course, her open cyberstalking and cyber sexual harassment cases might render that point moot.

Here’s video, as posted by Newsbusters:

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Here’s a transcript, as posted by Christy:

CHRIS CUOMO: Jones says she spearhead the launch of Florida’s COVID-19 data portal. She says she was fired after she was quote “asked to manipulate, delete and hide data, and refused to do so.” Jones provided CNN an email she sent to her former colleagues on May 15th reads in part “my office is no longer managing the COVID dashboard, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency.” This, of course was dynamite for the situation. Rebekah Jones joins us now. Thanks for taking the opportunity.

REBEKAH JONES: Thank you for having me.

CUOMO: Do me two favors, one let’s keep it out of the weeds because data stiff gets dense really fast and let’s name no names because I haven’t had chance to get responses from all the players. Alright, so to be fair.

JONES: Understood.

CUOMO: So the simple question is, what exactly were you asked to do that was so unusual and improper, and in your opinion wrong.

JONES: Well, the first time I was asked to do something improper was in April. And when I was brought basically what the results of whether or not each county could open to superiors they essentially told me they did not like the results. The results —

CUOMO: How so? What didn’t they like? Help us understand

JONES: The results didn’t match the report for reopening that had already been written, basically saying that a lot of rural counties because of a wide range of reasons didn’t meet the
criteria that the state had outlined in order to qualify for reopening. Whereas some more populated counties did meet that criteria. And I was told that specifically – this is a quote – “we can’t tell Jackson and Franklin County they can’t reopen but Broward and Miami-Dade can.”

…

9:57

CUOMO: Would you want to go back there?

JONES: Which is helping people. No, not unless there is a change in leadership. No.

CUOMO: So you got to figure out what you do next. Rebekah Jones, I know a lot of this stuff is convoluted. I know this has been very hard for you to be in the spotlight. There are a lot of big accusations coming your way, so thank you for taking this opportunity to help us understand what this is about and what it means for the people of Florida. Thank you.

It should be noted that her claim has been thoroughly debunked, but a number of propagandists at outlets like MSNBC, The Daily Beast, The Hill, NPR and other places have run her claims, apparently without doing their due diligence. After all, this is exactly what the Democrat-media complex is looking for as it hurts a Republican — the truth be damned, as always.

For example:

Claim #1: Rebekah Jones was the “architect” of the Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard.

The truth: Jones was more like the drywall hanger of the dashboard rather than the “architect.” The dashboard was built on the same visual mapping tool that Johns Hopkins University made famous at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. In fact, Florida’s tool looks extremely similar. That’s because Johns Hopkins University is not the “architect” of the dashboard, either. The tool is actually built not on any of Florida’s many data servers, but using ready-made modules from a subscription service called ArcGIS. Jones’ job was to load data into those modules and decide how it appeared to visitors.

…

Claim #2: Rebekah Jones was a coronavirus “scientist”

The truth: Jones has a doctorate degree in geography. Her skill set, as applicable to COVID-19, was in mapping data, as we explained above. That’s it. No special skills in epidemiology, biology, or even public health. Depending on the narrative a media outlet wants to convey, using the term “scientist” in headlines about coronavirus carries with it a very specific connotation, leading readers to believe Jones was involved in the front lines of coronavirus research. If media outlets insist on describing her as a “scientist,” they owe their readers a fuller explanation of her role, and should, at most, describe her as a “data scientist,” though even that could be misleading and would still be misconstrued for political gain.

…

Claim #3: Rebekah Jones was asked to manipulate data to support the governor’s plan to reopen Florida

The truth: Jones was asked to temporarily disable the ability to export data from the dashboard so that it could be verified that the data matched other sources.

Brian Burgess concluded:

The bottom line: Rebekah Jones was fired for performance issues, not for “refusing to manipulate data.” And her extensive criminal history, which predates her employment in Florida, lends credence to the DeSantis administration that she was just a troublesome employee who is now disgruntled and trying to get media attention about her firing. The easiest way to get media attention right now is to claim a Republican elected official is involved in a conspiracy to cover up COVID-19 data detrimental to reopening the state economy.

The media outlets listed above will not issue retractions. They will double down on the idea that DeSantis’s administration is withholding / manipulating / deleting / altering data. That, too is totally false. But mark these words, the embarrassment of touting Rebekah Jones as their coronavirus martyr will quickly fade into the mainstream media memory hole.

In short, this is yet another case of lying propagandists in the lying liberal media deliberately spreading false information without any concern for the truth whatsoever.

Exit question: Will they EVER be held accountable? We’re not holding our breath.

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