During Wednesday’s GOP Presidential Debate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended his state’s history standards on slavery by labeling criticisms of them a “hoax” that has been perpetrated by Vice President Kamala Harris. Such a defense did not sit well with the fact-checking industry despite DeSantis being correct.
On CNN’s post-debate coverage, Daniel Dale told Anderson Cooper, “Governor DeSantis's hoax claim is false, Anderson. It is not a hoax. Florida social studies standards for middle schoolers includes the sentence that the moderator read to him here. And I think Governor DeSantis effectively admitted it was not a hoax when immediately after he called it a hoax, he pivoted to defending that sentence as being written by great scholars who are descendants of slaves.”
Dale continued, “So, here are the facts. Florida's new standards for sixth through eighth graders say they will -- quote – ‘examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves,’ and it gives a bunch of examples. And then it goes on to say that this -- it says that the standards say that this ‘instruction includes how slaves develop skills, which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit.’”
However, Dale undermined his own point that DeSantis was almost certainly referring to Harris’s conclusion of the curriculum, not what it literally says, “So again, the moderator wasn't making it up, Vice President Harris didn't make it up, it is there in black and white. Now, some context, the governor, his allies and various other Republicans, I've heard an argument from our Scott Jennings, they've said that the so-called hoax is making it sound like the curriculum broadly is pro-slavery.”
Conceding that they have a point, Dale observed, “They correctly note that the standards include item after item after item about the evils of slavery in addition to this line. And they're entitled to make that argument, though some other elements have also received criticism from historians. But in this debate, you know, he was read the precise line. He made it sound like it was a line made up by VP Harris.”
So, what exactly is Dale fact-checking? DeSantis called accusations that Florida is teaching that somehow slavery was a good thing a hoax and Dale conceded that he is correct, but still labeled him false.
Such attacks were not unique to Dale. PolitiFact also quoted the exact line, but left out the crucial context that people like Jennings would add which is ironic for a debate roundup that repeatedly declared claims from the candidates needed “more context.”
Similarly, factcheck.org wrote, “But it’s not a hoax” and the New York Times’s Dana Goldstein wrote, “it was not a false statement from the vice president. The task force that drafted these standards did include Black members. However, some Black history experts in Florida who had long been involved in crafting school curriculum have spoken out against the standards, saying they were sidelined from the process of drafting them in favor of political appointees.”
Ultimately, this specific claim from DeSantis highlights the hypocrisy of the fact-checking industry. Some true claims from Republicans are downplayed because they “need context” while others made by Democrats that need more context are simply portrayed as true.
Here is a transcript for the September 28 show:
CNN The Republican Presidential Debate: Post Debate Analysis
9/27/2023
11:49 PM ET
DANIEL DALE: Governor DeSantis's hoax claim is false, Anderson. It is not a hoax. Florida social studies standards for middle schoolers includes the sentence that the moderator read to him here. And I think Governor DeSantis effectively admitted it was not a hoax when immediately after he called it a hoax, he pivoted to defending that sentence as being written by great scholars who are descendants of slaves.
So, here are the facts. Florida's new standards for sixth through eighth graders say they will -- quote -- "examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves," and it gives a bunch of examples. And then it goes on to say that this -- it says that the standards say that this “instruction includes how slaves develop skills, which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit.”
So again, the moderator wasn't making it up, Vice President Harris didn't make it up, it is there in black and white. Now, some context, the governor, his allies and various other Republicans, I've heard an argument from our Scott Jennings, they've said that the so-called hoax is making it sound like the curriculum broadly is pro-slavery.
They correctly note that the standards include item after item after item about the evils of slavery in addition to this line. And they're entitled to make that argument, though some other elements have also received criticism from historians. But in this debate, you know, he was read the precise line. He made it sound like it was a line made up by VP Harris.
She'd fabricated the personal benefit thing. She did not. And I'll close by noting that it's not just VP Harris who criticized it, so have black advocacy groups, many historians, and various Republican lawmakers, including a Black Republican on stage with DeSantis tonight, Senator Tim Scott, who said tonight that Florida should have just cut that line out. Anderson?
