GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) —In times like these, it's very rare to have both sides of the political aisle see eye-to-eye, but a viral and erroneous post about legislation to fix the state’s budget gap has been met with bipartisan condemnation in Lansing.
On Wednesday, Michigan legislators began addressing a $2.2 billion hole left by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The acted by quickly approving budget cuts and supplemental funding from the federal CARES Act.
After the legislature made that move, a tweet from Great Lakes News (GLN) incorrectly stated Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “has defunded the Michigan State Police and the prisons. Executive Order 2020-155 slashes tens of millions from the Michigan State Police and Department of Corrections…”
The social media post went viral within hours on Wednesday afternoon, yet it neglected to address the cuts being made in those departments would be supplemented with federal aid.
Michigan Department of Corrections spokesperson Chris Gautz clarified the budget moves for News 8 late Thursday afternoon saying, “Nothing was defunded. No major cuts were a part of this budget, so that’s the really important thing. No closures are included in this budget. No major ongoing cuts to some of our programs are going to happen because of this. It’s really just having the federal coronavirus relief funds replacing what the state would’ve paid. So basically, our corrections officers from now until the end of the fiscal year are going to be paid for through this federal funding rather than have it come through state dollars.”
State legislators used social media to decry the outlet’s post, yet by then the damage was done in a digital age where misinformation can spread with a tap of a touchscreen.
Amber McCann, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, told News 8, "The post from that source was irresponsible clickbait.”
Read more:WOODTV.COM