Bobby Burack
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Stephen King is a brilliant author. He’s also not very good on Twitter.
Tuesday, King tweeted that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill requiring Florida students and professors to register their political views.
“DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students, professors to register political views with state. I. Can’t. Even,” King tweeted.
Over 16,000 users shared this tweet and 100,000 more commented. It caused quite the stir. The tweet is also inaccurate.
The fact-checkers — whom King supports — debunked this very statement over one year ago:
Oh look. @StephenKing spreading false info. Shocker. Dude has lost his marbles. https://t.co/R7bamarqeN pic.twitter.com/egsXrXma1o
— Deep to Moss (@ilikebigdecks) July 6, 2022
Our ruling
DeSantis recently signed legislation requiring public colleges and universities to survey “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” to gauge in part how comfortable students, faculty and staff feel sharing their beliefs in classrooms.
The survey hasn’t been created yet, so we don’t know what it will ask students, faculty and staff at these institutions. But a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education told us it will be voluntary and won’t ask about individuals’ political beliefs, though surveys in other states that lawmakers have cited as inspiration for the bill do.
But, as written, the law doesn’t require public college and university students, faculty and staff to register their political views with the state.
We rate the post False.
What caused King to tweet this lie one year later? It appears King got his info from shady Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson, who just a day before, shared an article from June 2021 spreading that exact myth.
Wilson had his Junes mixed up and didn’t bother to see if the info he promoted was correct:
What happened to make this year-old lie resurface today? That piece is from 2021. It was debunked last June. https://t.co/MUyvUtNqT3 pic.twitter.com/i7OwsluhZx
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) July 5, 2022
King has nearly 7 million Twitter followers, meaning the disinformation he shares spreads quickly. If Twitter were concerned with debunking false information, it would identify a Tweet like this naughty.
But Twitter isn’t concerned with the facts. Nor are the self-proclaimed purveyors of the truth — also known as the blue check brigade — who have not addressed King’s lie.
Don’t expect King to correct his fake news Tweet, either. Novel writers are among the wokest of public figures. So, to them, the truth is only optional. And in this case, the truth is rather inconvenient.
King’s approach to his novels is the inverse of how he forms his political commentary online. As a novelist, King is unordinary and tidiest. He’s one of one.
As a tweeter, King is predictable and reckless with his thoughts. He’s a follower, begging to fit in.
Stick to haunted hotels and disturbing clowns. Seriously, the country needs more great content like that.
I still love your work, Stephen. Even if you lie on Twitter.
King has been a Kook lib forever. So there goes any credibility.
King is one ugly looking freak. He’s just a lifelong nerd trying to fit in. Pathetic fuck.
KIng once wrote a novel in which good triumphed over evil, and one of the main protagonists was an old Christion woman. He needs to get back on the drugs and alcohol.
Dumb as a rock lies too
His milieu is fiction. What do you expect?
The guy’s 124 years old! I’m surprised he knows how to sign in!