AP Corrects Misleading Title/Tweets About DeVos Using Private Plane At Own Expense

AP Corrects Misleading Title/Tweets About DeVos Using Private Plane At Own Expense

In the wake of the (legitimate) controversy about HHS Secretary Tom Price using public funds for private plane travel, the AP published an article entitled, “Education Secretary DeVos uses private plane for work travel.”  They bury the fact that she pays for this travel with her own, not taxpayer, monies.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

The Associated Press wrote a story Friday complaining that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos flies to events on her own private plane.

“Education Secretary DeVos uses private plane for work travel,” read the original headline. The AP also sent out a tweet with a similar headline.

. . . . The story comes in the context of a controversy over Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s use of private chartered planes to travel at taxpayers’ expense. The AP’s reporting was widely shared by angry liberal readers, including one Democratic delegate and supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) who suggested that DeVos should be the prisoner of a rapist for her use of a private plane.

But as the AP’s own story admits, DeVos pays for the the jet out of her own pocket and the travel adheres to all federal guidelines.

“The secretary neither seeks, nor accepts, any reimbursement for her flights, nor for any additional official travel-related expenses, such as lodging and per diem, even though she is entitled to such reimbursement under government travel regulations,” a DeVos spokesman said. “Secretary DeVos accepted her position to serve the public and is fully committed to being a faithful steward of taxpayer dollars.”

The AP eventually updated its headline to read, “On work trips, DeVos flies on her plane at own expense,” and deleted the misleading tweet.

This is clearly an intentional click-baiting attempt to mislead readers.  After all, what’s the actual story here?  Zomg! DeVos pays for her own travel!!!

And the media wonders why they are neither trusted nor respected.

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