September 10, 2017

Trump’s Social Media Director Just Tweeted Out a Fake Irma Video

Miami International Airport is trying to clean up the mess.

Irma-trackers, beware: Fake images and videos of the storm’s damage are going viral, including one that was posted Sunday afternoon by the White House’s own director of social media and assistant to President Trump, Dan Scavino, Jr.

But… it’s not Miami International Airport. That’s according to Miami International Airport itself, which began replying directly to people on Twitter who were reposting the video to their own feeds. Scavino has since deleted his tweet.

The footage posted by Scavino can be found on a YouTube page claiming to be showing an airport in Mexico City:

The Washington Post is putting together a comprehensive list of viral hoaxes to avoid while you’re tracking Hurricane Irma up Florida’s Gold Coast. Stay vigilant. Check before clicking “retweet.”

From Scavino, a mea culpa:

https://twitter.com/Scavino45/status/906979635858210817

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This is no time to come up short. It's time to fight like hell, as our namesake would tell us to do, for a democracy where minority rule cannot impose an extreme agenda, where facts matter, and where accountability has a chance at the polls and in the press. If you value our reporting and you can right now, please help us dig out of the $100,000 hole we're starting our new budgeting cycle in with an always-needed and always-appreciated donation today.

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