Florida fired its coronavirus data scientist. Now she's publishing the statistics on her own.
Source: Washington Post
Marisa Iati 8 hrs ago
Tension built for days between Florida Department of Health supervisors and the departments geographic information systems manager before officials showed her the door, she says, permanently pulling her off the coronavirus dashboard that she operated for weeks.
Managers had wanted Rebekah Jones to make certain changes to the public-facing portal, she says. Jones had objected to and sometimes refused to comply with what she saw as unethical requests. She says the department offered to let her resign. Jones declined.
Weeks after she was fired in mid-May, Jones has now found a way to present the states coronavirus data exactly the way she wants it: She created a dashboard of her own.
I wanted to build an application that delivered data and helped people get tested and helped them get resources that they need from their community, Jones, 30, said of the site that launched Thursday. And thats what I ended up building with this new dashboard.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/florida-fired-its-coronavirus-data-scientist-now-shes-publishing-the-statistics-on-her-own/ar-BB15pzoh?li=BBnb7Kz
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)Mike 03
(16,616 posts)Every state with a republican governor needs its own Rebekah Jones.
I hope they leave her alone and don't try to shut her site down.
One of the House committees should call her to testify. You can tell from her interviews she really, really wants to talk about what she's experienced.
TristanIsolde
(272 posts)It is very hard to do the right thing when it affects your livelihood, when you are depending on your Job to merely exist with a roof on your head and food on the table, most people tend to cave and say they are just obeying orders. Maybe she was lucky and had other resources, still, what she did is commendable. You cannot hide the truth.
Bengus81
(6,931 posts)You mean that Di Santis and his bunch wanted to maybe fudge the REAL number with under reporting?
Oh it just couldn't be.....
niyad
(113,336 posts)Fla Dem
(23,690 posts)bedazzled
(1,763 posts)Thanks for the heads up.
mcar
(42,334 posts)but I fear they will trash her and her work that she is trying to get out to the public. Im sure they will say her information is fake news sadly.
Pacifist Patriot
(24,653 posts)Blues Heron
(5,937 posts)glad she's getting the data out so they can't supress it
riversedge
(70,242 posts)MsInformed
(48 posts)Please let some good lawyer find her and help her file an unjust firing lawsuit.
Fuck those guys.
mpcamb
(2,871 posts)Smart.
Florida.
History of Honor.
Science background.
Acting for Integrity.
Acting for the Public.
Acting for Transparency.
Fired by walking trash-heap Ron DeSantis.
Hey, let's put her on a ballot!
I'd get a plane ticket and go campaign for her.
Skittles
(153,169 posts)could be going from one extreme to the other