Washington Post admits mainstream media overreacted to outdoor gatherings during early months of pandemic

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The Washington Post quietly admitted this week that mainstream media outlets were wrong to panic over crowds in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. and Clearwater Beach, Fla., last year during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

A Post report headlined, "A year into the pandemic, it’s even more clear that it’s safer to be outside," essentially proving the media narrative was wildly overblown.  

"For more than a year, the vast majority of documented coronavirus clusters have been linked to indoor or indoor-outdoor settings — households, meatpacking plants, nursing homes and restaurants. Near-absent are examples of transmission at beaches and other open spaces where breezes disperse airborne particles, distancing is easier, and humidity and sunlight render the coronavirus less viable," Post reporters Karin Brulliard and Lenny Bernstein wrote.

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The Washington Post admitted this week that mainstream media was wrong to panic over crowds in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. last year during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. (via REUTERS)

CNN was among the biggest contributors to panic at the thought of outdoor gatherings. Brian Stelter shamed partiers crowded at a Lake of the Ozarks pool for "obviously" ignoring warnings from health officials, the network closely monitored anyone who attended the pool party who eventually tested positive, and footage of the crowded Florida beaches was plastered across the network.

The Post noted the viral pool party from the Lake of the Ozarks wasn’t the disaster the mainstream media painted it to be.

"Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said an extensive tracing effort found no major coronavirus clusters connected to the weekend, though a few individuals were infected," the Post reported.

"From that event that attracted national attention, we didn’t see any kind of spreader or superspreader even," Williams added.

As for Clearwater Beach, the Post reported there was "far less outcry" when partygoers returned in 2021.

As recently as February, media outlets panicked over the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay as a possible "super spreader" event, in yet another coronavirus prediction that did not materialize.

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"What a difference a year makes. The beaches were even busier this year, but officials say there were no talks of closure," the Post reported.

Earlier this week, Project Veritas published an explosive, secretly recorded video featuring a CNN employee saying the network relied on the coronavirus pandemic for ratings.

"Fear really drives numbers," CNN technical director Charles Chester said in one video clip.