Left-Wing Horror Writer Stephen King Retracts and Apologizes For Fake News Tweet About Ron DeSantis

Left-wing horror writer Stephen King retracted and apologized for a fake news tweet that he had made about Ron DeSantis.

PolitiFact ultimately fact-checked King and archived his July 6 tweet where he had declared, “DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students, professors to register political views with state. I. Can’t. Even.”

King was apparently inspired to make the tweet after reading a June 2021 article from Salon, the headline of which has also since been changed after the author put it in the spotlight.

In his tweet yesterday apologizing for the gaffe, King offered, “I deleted a tweet about Ron DeSantis requiring notice of political views of students and teachers. That really was fake news. Sorry.”

I deleted a tweet about Ron DeSantis requiring notice of political views of students and teachers. That really was fake news. Sorry.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 9, 2022

In a separate tweet, however, King insisted, “DeSantis is still a jerk. That isn’t fake news.”

DeSantis is still a jerk. That isn't fake news.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 9, 2022

According to The Daily Wire, Twitter, which selectively cracks down on anything it deems misinformation, did nothing about the tweet for several days before King acted.

In a statement to CNN, King said, “I regret having posted the headline without being more confident the story was correct.”

“Salon is usually more reliable. Twitter is a constant learning experience, and I will try to do better,” King added, blaming his source.

The law, H.B. 233, simply requires public colleges and universities in Florida to offer voluntary annual surveys on the subject of “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity.”

DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw said, “The goal of this legislation is to ensure that no one feels as though a political ideology is being forced on them in higher education, from any angle.”

“The college campus is supposed to be a place to freely discuss ideas, weigh them against one another, and draw informed conclusions. It is not supposed to be an indoctrination camp pushing any singular ideology,” Pushaw explained.