Florida reporter terminated after describing Ron DeSantis' event as 'propaganda'

16 March 2023

A reporter has been terminated from Axios after describing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) recent event as "propaganda."

According to The Washington Post, Ben Montgomery issued a response to an email where he was asked about DeSantis' recent roundtable discussion "exposing the diversity equity and inclusion scam in higher education."

DeSantis also released a statement saying, "We will expose the scams they are trying to push onto students across the country."

Responding to the email, Montgomery described the event as "propaganda" in a statement to the press office for the U.S. Department of Education.

"This is propaganda, not a press release," Montgomery said.

Per the news outlet, Montgomery also said the news release had "'no substance,' adding that he 'read the whole thing and it was just a series of quotes about how bad DEI was.'"

Speaking about the incident, Montgomery weighed in with his reaction to the termination saying, "It's incredibly important that their organizations stand up on their behalf and realize that this is nothing but a political tactic to gain right-wing votes and disrupt the lives of hard-working journalists."

He also shared his co-workers' reactions to his abrupt termination.

"It might seem like a little thing for a guy in Tampa, Fla., to be out of a job for a minute," Montgomery said. "But this has ripple effects for an administration that's really had their way with the press and run roughshod over a lot of people — good people."

The Washinton Post's full report is available here (subscription required).

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