Drudge Report’s playing down and politicizing of Hurricane Matthew was ‘deplorable’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/10/06/drudge-report-posts-infuriating-and-flawed-comments-on-hurricane-matthew/?tid=pm_pop_b

Late Thursday afternoon, monstrous Hurricane Matthew was just hours away from a likely devastating impact with Florida. It was a time when meteorologists, emergency managers and politicians of all persuasions were joining to deliver a simple, clear message in the spirit of keeping people safe: Take this storm seriously, and prepare.



Yet the popular Drudge Report website, visited by a massive audience, including vulnerable Floridians, was casting doubt on the severity of the Category 4 storm. In big, bold all-capital letters, it said the storm was “ragged” and suggested it could be fizzling. It made this proclamation at the same time the National Hurricane Center was calling for “potentially disastrous impacts” in Florida.


Drudge’s contradictory message was not only infuriating to meteorologists who knew the dangerous storm was holding its own, but it may also have put people’s lives at risk.

For Florida residents who were perhaps on the fence about whether to evacuate at the last minute, the words on that website may have introduced enough doubt to lead them into a decision they will regret.