(Big League Politics) – The Associated Press is being slammed online after they stated that a new Florida bill banning the teaching of critical race theory “would prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel ‘discomfort’ when they teach students or train employees about discrimination in the nation’s past.” The specific mention of skin color by AP is highly misleading though, as no language in the legislation actually specifies any particular race.
Florida Senate Bill 148, also called “An act relating to individual freedom,” received its first approval on Tuesday. Reporting by the Associated Press indicates that it is being approved by the Senate Education Committee along party lines.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pushed for lawmakers to pass the legislation earlier this month, calling critical race theory “crap.”
“In Florida we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory,” said DeSantis at the time of the legislation’s announcement. “We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other.”
Paragraph one of the Associated Press story stated the following: “A bill pushed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that would prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel ‘discomfort’ when they teach students or train employees about discrimination in the nation’s past received its first approval Tuesday.”
The AP is lying about a new Florida bill.
The bill itself suggests that it is illegal for instructors or trainers to subject any individual to Critical Race Theory training as a condition to get a job, go to school, join a club, or otherwise be withheld from participation. pic.twitter.com/sKzlyzZVRV
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 19, 2022
The line that the false story alluded to can be found a couple of times through the legislation. Rather than seeking to ban the practice of making “white people” feel “discomfort” as AP suggested, a true look at the bill shows discussion on unlawful employment practices that could make “an individual” feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin.” In other words, AP completely made up the whole ‘white people’ part.
The Post Millenial pointed out that the AP never included the full language of the text until paragraph 8 of their article, explicitly stating the aforementioned ‘white discomfort,’ narrative in both the headline and the first paragraph of the article.
Numerous people took to social media in order to bash the failed and false reporting by the multi-media conglomerate.
Ask the Associated Press, because it's the AP's term. That's not what the Florida law says. Read first, comment second! https://t.co/aHPW7Rj9QT https://t.co/TXmS6WhlNA
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) January 19, 2022
bigleaguepolitics.com/liars-ap-slammed-for-saying-anti-crt-bill-prohibits-making-whites-feel-discomfort/
