Florida governor hires conspiracy theorist sports blogger and Uber driver to conduct data research into COVID-19 - despite history of tweets downplaying virus
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has hired a sports blogger for a data analytics job that sees him compiling coronavirus figures for the state, despite his history of spreading conspiracy theories about the virus online.
Kyle Lamb, who is originally from Columbus, Ohio, and moonlights as an Uber driver, will perform data analysis on various subjects including COVID-19 research for the Florida State Office of Policy and Budget.
Lamb's Twitter feed is full of conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and often praises Governor DeSantis about the pandemic.
DeSantis himself has repeatedly downplayed the risk of the virus and refused to mandate that masks be worn across the state.
Florida Governor's Office has hired an Uber driver/Ohio sports blogger, Kyle Lamb, who has spread Covid-19 disinformation as a data analyst on Twitter
Lamb is said to be working on coronavirus 'research and other projects', however the governor's office has downplayed Lamb's position as an 'entry-level job'
Lamb appeared to suddenly gain recognition through his Twitter feed posts.
Lamb has claimed masks don't prevent the coronavirus from spreading; lockdowns are ineffective; that hydroxychloroquine, a drug touted by President Donald Trump, can treat the virus; that COVID-19 might be part of a Chinese 'biowar,' is not more deadly than the flu; and that the virus isn't dangerous for children to contract.
In another such posting, which has subsequently been deleted, he claimed that an Ohio resident tested positive 15 times for the virus which the state counted every single time, thereby artificially inflating the numbers detailing how many people had the virus.
During a podcast he hosts, he admitted that he had few qualifications for the role: 'Fact is, I'm not an 'expert.' I'm not a doctor, epidemiologist, virologist or scientist. I also don't need to be. Experts don't have all the answers, and we've learned that the hard way.'
Ron DeSantis, left, who like Trump has been accused of downplaying the pandemic dangers, has hired Kyle Lamb who critics have dismissed as a 'crackpot'
In a recent post, Lamb suggested that the figures for deaths by COVID-19 and pneumonia were running in parallel with one another
'I have no qualms about being a 'sports guy' moonlighting as a COVID-19 analyst,' Lamb is said to have written on his podcast website according to the Miami Herald.
Lamb is an Ohio sports blogger, Uber driver and now data analyst for the state of Florida
Locally, several sports writers from Ohio told the Herald that Lamb was a 'crackpot' in Ohio State sports journalism.
'He just seemed like another Internet weirdo. He'd been around the [Ohio State sports] ecosystem for a long time,' said Jeff Svoboda to the Herald.
'It just seemed like if no one before us would hire him, there was a reason. … He's a crackpot, frankly. But his Twitter University graduate degree is paying dividends.'
'It's extremely disconcerting that you appoint somebody that has very limited technical qualifications and has made his agenda very clear,' Vish Viswanath, a professor of health communication at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said.
One Twitter user openly mocked Lamb's appointment, saying he was not qualified for the data analyst position.
Brian Snow wrote: 'Dear state governors, yes I am a basketball recruiting guy who started in Ohio. NO, I AM NOT qualified to be your data analyst for covid. Before today I never felt that would need to be said, but apparently it does have to be said.'
Lamb's Twitter profile is littered with conspiracy theories and reposts from questionable sources.
In March, Lamb called Ohio's Governor and doctor from the Ohio Department of Health, Amy Acton, 'stupid' for suggesting Ohio would reach 5,000 daily cases.
On Tuesday, Ohio registered 6,500 daily new cases.
In a July tweet, Lamb was critical of the advice that suggested people should wear face masks despite the move being advocated for by the World Health Organization.
In a tweet from October, without citing evidence, Lamb suggested that the state of Utah could be reaching 'herd immunity' with 25 per cent of the population supposedly infected.
He also suggested that COVID had taken the place of the seasonal flu. Lamb said there had been a 98% decrease around the world of flu, yet the 'statistics were being ignored.'
On this fact, the CDC agrees with Lamb which points out that flu rates, so far, are much less than in previous years. It suggests that more frequent hand washing, social distancing and the use of face masks could well be playing a part in the reasons behind the decrease in influenza.
In a July tweet, Lamb was critical of the advice that suggested people should wear masks
In March, Lamb called Ohio's Governor and doctor from the Ohio Department of Health, Amy Acton, stupid for suggesting Ohio would reach 5,000 daily cases. On Tuesday, Ohio had 6,500 daily new cases
In a tweet from October, without citing evidence, Lamb suggests that the state of Utah could be reaching 'herd immunity' with 25 per cent of the population supposedly infected
In a recent tweet, Lamb joked that there would be a lockdown in Ohio until and important football game against Michigan
Lamb complained on his Twitter feed that testing had increased across Ohio but the number of positive tests were lower than in April
Lamb suggested that COVID had taken the place of the flu and that there had been a 98% decrease around the world of flu, yet the statistics were being ignored
'At the end of the day, the price will be paid by the residents of Florida to these steps. So my question is, what is the end game here? Who is going to benefit from this?'
'Kyle was a nobody, really,' said fellow Ohio sports blogger Gus Vogel. 'He had his own little podcast. But he turned himself into an authority on everything from NCAA laws to domestic violence cases. This is a reoccurring theme with Kyle: He thinks he's an expert on everything.'
DeSantis's spokesman, Fred Piccolo, downplayed Lamb's role as 'an entry-level job' and noted that he would not be working just on COVID-19.
Piccolo also stressed that any information Lamb was working on would pass 'through about 10 hands' before it reached DeSantis.
A health worker performs a nasal swab for a free COVID-19 rapid test at a drive through site at Barnett Park in Orlando, Florida where cases of COVID-19 are on the rise
People in cars line up to receive free COVID-19 rapid tests at a drive through
The Florida Department of Health reporting almost 7,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday
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