MediamiamiHurricane IrmaDan Scavino

White House Social Media Director Busted For Tweeting Fake News

Dan Scavino Jr. was called out for sharing a bogus #HurricaneIrma video.
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By 

Overnight Editor, HuffPost

White House social media director Dan Scavino Jr. tweeted a video on Sunday he initially claimed showed a flooded Miami International Airport during Hurricane Irma.

In fact, the video didn’t feature Miami’s airport nor was it taken during Hurricane Irma.  

The tweet has since been deleted, but Scavino wrote that he was “Sharing #HurricaneIrma on social media with President @realDonaldTrump and @VP Pence hourly. Here is Miami International Airport. Stay safe!!” 

Several users on social media said it appeared to be a clip of Mexico City’s airport during an earlier storm. Miami International Airport took to its own Twitter account to set the record straight: 

Scavino, who routinely blasts news organizations such as CNN and The New York Times for what he calls “fake news,” deleted the tweet but did not apologize for his mistake. Instead, he blamed his error on the fact that he was receiving hundreds of videos. 

The airport thanked Scavino for deleting the tweet. The public, however, was less forgiving:  

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Before You Go

Hurricane Irma Hits Florida
(01 of15)
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A truck was blown over as Hurricane Irma passed through the Florida Keys. (credit:Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
(02 of15)
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A man died when his pickup truck crashed into a tree in the Florida Keys. (credit:Handout / Reuters)
(03 of15)
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High winds split a large tree in Coral Beach. (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
(04 of15)
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MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 10: People walk past a building where the roof was blown off by Hurricane Irma on September 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Hurricane Irma, which first made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, has weakened to a Category 2 as it moves up the coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (credit:Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
(05 of15)
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Boats at a marina in Coconut Grove (credit:Carlos Barria / Reuters)
(06 of15)
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Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang (credit:Stephen Yang / Reuters)
(07 of15)
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A street sign is knocked over by high winds in Coral Beach. (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
(08 of15)
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Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang (credit:Stephen Yang / Reuters)
(09 of15)
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Boats at a marina in Coconut Grove. (credit:Carlos Barria / Reuters)
(10 of15)
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A vehicle drives along a flooded street in downtown Miami. (credit:Carlos Barria / Reuters)
(11 of15)
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Flooding begins in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang (credit:Stephen Yang / Reuters)
(12 of15)
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A collapsed construction crane downtown Miami. (credit:Carlos Barria / Reuters)
(13 of15)
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Palm trees blow in the winds in Bonita Springs. (credit:NICHOLAS KAMM via Getty Images)
(14 of15)
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Broken tree branches block roads in Coral Beach. (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
(15 of15)
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East Oakland Park Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
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