DeSantis Critic Embraced By Progressives Created Fake News Site to Promote Herself

Rebekah Jones, the former Florida health department official, who has become widely popular among the media for her critical views on Governor Ron DeSantis, has been identified as the creator of a dubious local Florida news outlet which proclaimed her to be an “international hero” and attacked the Florida state attorney who brought Jones into a hacking case. Corporate records inspected by the Washington Free Beacon indicates that Jones founded the outlet, My Northwest Florida, in November. However, Jones has denied any connection to the site.

My Northwest Florida has published only a few articles, including an extensive investigative story that accused state prosecutors of forging Jones’s signature on a plea agreement in which she admitted to guilt in December. Twitter users found that the contact phone number for the MyNWFL website is the same as Jones’ campaign number, and her name appears to be listed at the top of the outlet’s email account. Her name is also mentioned in the website’s “About” section, which is identical to a mission statement filed with the Florida government by Jones’s company, My Northwest Florida LLC.

Jones has made serious claims against the Florida government concerning COVID death data manipulation, and she also contested a congressional race against Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz in November, which she lost. However, her assertions have been considered to be unfounded. Recently, Jones claimed that her son was arrested by the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office, who acted upon the governor’s orders, after he allegedly made threats of a school shooting and wanting to “kill the losers at school.” There is no evidence that DeSantis had any part in the arrest.

Sharp-eyed Twitter users claim that many of the My Northwest Florida website’s stories were copy-and-pasted from existing local news outlets, including two articles by Romi White, the publisher of South Santa Rosa News in Northwest Florida, that were reportedly uploaded to the site without permission. White alleges that Jones reached out to her last year, following the election, to partner with her to create a national news website that would stretch from Texas to Florida’s Tallahassee. White refused, citing a clash of values with Jones.

Rebekah Jones has been accused of self-promotion, using a fake news outlet that she created, which hailed her as a hero and targeted people who brought her into a hacking case, according to the corporate records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.