Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has been taken to task for disseminating misinformation on his Facebook page to his nearly 340,000 followers. His penchant for posting unsubstantiated stories came into the spotlight along with the news that he was in the running for U.S. agriculture secretary under the forthcoming Trump administration.
“I’m not a news organization. Y’all are holding me to the same standards as you would a news organization, and you know it’s just Facebook,” Miller said on Wednesday.
Nevertheless, citizens who are apt to trust information coming from the head of a state agency might now erroneously believe that the U.S. Communist Party endorsed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign or that the FBI discovered a jihadi training compound in Texas but could not act because of red tape.
Miller said that he would take down stories if someone points out to him that they are inaccurate or false but insists that Facebook is not a reliable source for news anyway. He said he can’t be bothered to check whether information he’s posting is correct before sharing it.
“I’m not a news source. I shouldn’t be held to that standard,” he reiterated. “I put things up there. I’m very, very active on it. Hundred and fifty posts a week. No, I’m not going to research every one of them. If it’s thought-provoking, I’ll put it up there and let the readers decide. Everybody that reads that is grownups.”
“I’m not like any other statewide official. I’ve never been politically correct. I really never cared what the press said or does. I do my thing,” Miller said.
This is not the first time his social media activity has drawn outrage. He infamously called Clinton a “c***” on Twitter (which he later blamed on a staffer) and called for nuking the “Muslim world” on Facebook (for which he did not apologize).
Among the batch were articles claiming that President Obama smiled while holding up a T-shirt featuring Communist revolutionary Che Guevara in Cuba, a Texan was forced to take down his American flag as to not offend Muslims, pop star Lady Gaga planned to cover her face until Trump is fired from the Oval Office and Clinton wanted to draft young women into the military.
In response to the report, like clockwork, Miller took to social media to boast that he has more Facebook followers (335,000) than the Tribune (75,000). He said he trusts his “social media family” to determine what’s newsworthy.
“Regardless whether the Texas Tribune or other members of the mainstream media likes it, we will continue to post things we find newsworthy, interesting, thought-provoking. funny, or controversial and let our followers decide whether its news, satire, or something else,” he wrote. “As they say over at Fox News. We report. You decide!”
Kaius wrote:Can I get a short paragraph or a few bullet points on why you are staunchly anti-death penalty?
Very brief version: I just don't believe a state or country should have the authority to kill its citizens (or anyone else who's subject to their legal system). I also think that the criminal justice system should focus on rehabilitation and not punishment/revenge--even if someone is sentenced to life in prison, I want the system to try and work to reform them, somehow. I don't have any fancy-smancy philosophical arguments handy, but I could try to think of some.
I read that on facebook right after I got to work yesterday and had to look away from the computer and take a deep
breath so I didn't start bawling. gut-wrenching, but beautiful too.
I can't imagine being that guy. I'd be wrecked for life.
I could only take a little solace in knowing that this kid passed on thinking that there was something good waiting for him on the other side. He didn't pass away afraid.
"I'll hold your wallet while you go fuck yourself"-David Letterman
I can't imagine being that guy. I'd be wrecked for life.
I could only take a little solace in knowing that this kid passed on thinking that there was something good waiting for him on the other side. He didn't pass away afraid.
Yeah but then just think about the deep black nothingness that actually awaited him
I can't imagine being that guy. I'd be wrecked for life.
I could only take a little solace in knowing that this kid passed on thinking that there was something good waiting for him on the other side. He didn't pass away afraid.
Yeah but then just think about the deep black nothingness that actually awaited him
I mean, that is probably more peaceful than painful cancer so