Randi Weingarten admits to sharing fake list of 'banned' books: 'My bad'
Weingarten was re-elected to lead the AFT in July, entering her eighth term as president
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten admitted to sharing a false tweet claiming that certain books were banned in Florida on Sunday.
"I should have double checked before I retweeted this list. My bad. Looks like some of the books weren’t banned. Book bans are very real & dangerous," she said on Sunday. Weingarten included a screenshot of her original tweet, which said, "Books we have taught for generations!!!!!"
The list, posted by an account called "Freesus Patriot," claimed that Florida has banned books such as, "To Kill a Mockingbird," and "A Wrinkle in Time." The account also tweeted that they would not reveal the source of the list.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I'm not going to say where this list came from due to protecting sources but if this list is wrong then I invite @RonDeSantisFL to publicly state the books on this list will not be banned in Florida schools & he intends to protect student's rights. I will take it down if he does," the account tweeted.
Social media users responded to Weingarten's walk-back and original tweet, which has since been deleted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, during a town hall with presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren and union members in Philadelphia, May 13, 2019. (Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
"This list is fake, Randi. Notice there's no link to a source for it," Frank Luntz wrote.
Weingarten responded to Luntz, saying, "We thought it was checked. My bad and I deleted…"
Weingarten was re-elected to lead the AFT in July, making it her eighth term as AFT president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Weingarten replied to another tweet pointing out that the list was "made up" and said that she should have "double checked."
Randi Weingarten at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 21, 2021. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for MomsRising Together)
Weingarten also pointed her followers to two "accurate" lists of books that have been banned and included links to both.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Nice one," Mairead Elordi, investigative reporter at the Daily Wire, wrote.
Gov. Ron DeSantis', R-Fla., press secretary Bryan Griffin, responded to a different tweet posted by "A Worried Citizen," which said, "Florida bans the Pulitzer Prize winning novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.'"
Griffin said the claim was "completely false."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Kamala Harris listens to Randi Weingarten speak to the media after meeting with union members in Detroit, May 6, 2019. (Reuters/Rebecca Cook)
"The State of Florida has not banned To Kill a Mockingbird. In fact, Florida RECOMMENDS the book in 8th grade," he wrote.
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A school board in Washington state did remove the book from its curriculum over complaints that it was racially insensitive.