Wash Post publishes piece with debunked claim about DeSantis’ Florida despite source admitting it was wrong

Several days after Business Insider admitted they had published inaccurate numbers of state residents that moved to Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin cited them and used them in an attack piece about Gov. Ron DeSantis’, R-Fla., leadership of the state.

Rubin published the column Friday in which she claimed, "DeSantis likes to brag that more people are moving to Florida than ever. Not so fast. ‘An estimated 674,740 people reported that their permanent address changed from Florida to another state in 2021.’" Those numbers are wrong and the Post, in a correction on Saturday, admitting the column "mischaracterized" the stats. 

She originally added, "’That’s more than any other state, including New York or California, the two states that have received the most attention for outbound migration during the pandemic,’ according to the American Community Survey released in June tracking state-by-state migration."

I AM LEAVING NEW YORK CITY FOR FLORIDA. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD 

Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin published cited incorrect facts about Florida residents in a column Friday, three days after her source admitted they were wrong. ((Photo by: William B. Plowman/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images))

Business Insider published the figure earlier in the week, claiming that 674,740 residents left the state, overtaking 433,402 residents leaving California and 287,249 residents moving from New York.

Though the outlet corrected it Tuesday, after critics, including Team DeSantis’ Christina Pushaw, pointed out, consulted the data the report was based on and blasted the paper.

Pushaw tweeted, "That figure -- 674,740 -- is people who moved TO Florida, not OUT OF Florida. Retraction needed."

Confirming critics’ analysis, Business Insider wrote a new piece correcting the figure, which was headlined, "We got it wrong: More people moved out of New York and California in 2021."

In it, reporter Kelsey Neubauer – who wrote the original erroneous piece – stated, "Out-of-staters flocked to Florida in 2021, with some 674,740 people moving there," amending the claim. 

It added, "About 469,577 residents left the state, for a net population gain of 205,163," and affirmed, "The state became a big draw for Americans who decided to move during the pandemic."

Despite Business Insider admitting its original claim was contrary to the actual numbers, Rubin published the debunked fact in her piece three days later. 

On Saturday afternoon, the Post offered a correction to Rubin's column, admitting to "mischaracterizing" the numbers: "A previous version of this article mischaracterized Floridians' state-to-state migration in 2021. According to the Census Bureau, more people moved into Florida than any other state that year. This version has been corrected."

NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA SUFFER BIGGEST BLOW AS MORE AMERICANS FLEE TO LOW-TAX STATES

Rubin published her erroneous column Friday in an effort to trash Gov. Ron DeSantis', R-Fla., governance of the state during the COVID-19 lockdowns. (Ronn Blitzer, Fox News)

Since Rubin published the piece, multiple Twitter users blasted her and the Washington Post outlet for not catching the error.

The National Review’s Charles Cooke shared screenshots of Rubin’s error and the new article from Business Insider on Twitter. He wrote, "In which Jennifer Rubin writes a piece in the Washington Post on Friday that is based around the massive mistake that Business Insider made—and then corrected—on Tuesday. ‘Does she have editors?’ was just emphatically answered."

Cooke added, "It really is jarring to see. When I’ve written for the Post and the Times, I’ve been fact-checked until I bled. If I wrote that there are 50 states, I was asked for a citation. That’s fine—good, even. But, as is evident if you read those papers, it only happens in one direction."

Outkick.com writer Ian Miller tweeted, "Jennifer Rubin and the Washington Post lied about the amount of people who moved to Florida because they didn’t want it to be true since it makes Ron DeSantis look good — and they still haven’t corrected their very obvious mistake. Amazing to see how desperate they are."

RedState.com senior editor Joe Cunningham commented, "Hell, CNN fact-checked the hell out of an op-ed I wrote. But Jennifer Rubin gets all the free passes."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Washington Post for comment on the error. This article will be updated with any response. 

Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.