Florida Governor Rick Scott Alive & Tweeting: Scott Wasn’t Struck In The Head, Not On Life Support [Debunked]

A fake article that has been shared more than 2,000 times on Facebook comes with the headline, “UPDATE: Florida Governor Rick Scott Now Listed As ‘Critical’ After Bizarre Hurricane Cleanup Accident.” However, a quick search for Florida Governor Rick Scott on Twitter proves Scott is alive and tweeting and posting updates. As reported by Snopes, the article is fake.

The fake article claimed that Scott was in critical condition after an accident happened when the Florida governor was helping to clean up in the wake of Hurricane Irma. The article claimed that Rick had to be transported to Mercy General Hospital in Sarasota, Florida, on the morning of Monday, September 11, after blaming Scott’s injuries on some horrific accident. The article cited a non-existent Fox News article that claimed Scott’s chief of staff, Morton Valdy, told the publication that Governor Scott had been hit in the head with a ceramic tile from a rooftop. The article blamed the ceramic tile from the roof for injuring Scott after it allegedly fell from a neighbor’s roof. The fake news piece claimed that Scott was in the midst of helping the neighbor clear debris from the driveway when the tile — an item which can become a dangerous projectile during heavy winds — fell 30 feet prior to knocking out the governor.

This morning I'm joining Vice Admiral Schultz and @USCG members to assess damage from Irma in the Florida Keys. pic.twitter.com/HWD2HW19Gj

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) September 11, 2017

The misspelled words in the article help readers identify it as a fake article. The fact that a neighbor would have a house that is 30 feet high, which is three stories, also points to indications that the piece is fake. Plus, the website comes with verbiage that states “while everything on this site is a satirical work of fiction, we are proud to present it to those who will have called it real anyway.”

The article claimed that Scott was stabilized and sent to the ICU, where doctors would have to drill a hole in his skull to relieve internal bleeding. Another claim being made about Governor Scott was that he would have made a great president, along with claims that President Trump tweeted out his condolences. The fake website also contains an article titled, “BREAKING: Rick Scott’s Wife Takes Him Off Of Life Support: ‘It’s In God’s Hands Now’.” The Last Line of Defense calls itself a site that “offers today’s busy conservative a place to go to read things they’ll enjoy and congregate with a bunch of people they agree with.”

Meeting @RedCross volunteers with Mayor @ashtonjhayward in Pensacola. They are working hard at a shelter with evacuees from all over Florida pic.twitter.com/hTkaFxfQRi

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) September 10, 2017

[Featured Image by Joe Reedy/AP Images]