Rush Limbaugh has come under fire for his comments suggesting the media coverage of Hurricane Irma is a ploy to drum up local business.
The outspoken radio host made his statements about the storm and the ensuing media coverage on his syndicated radio show, which tapes from Florida. Irma is expected to first touch down in the continental US in the Sunshine state.
His suggestion that the media stokes the public’s frenzy in the face of a natural disaster to the benefit of local shopping areas, sparked outrage from arguably the most recognizable weatherman in the country, the Today Show’s Al Roker.
Al Roker (seen here covering Irma Wednesday morning) slammed Rush Limbaugh for comments he made during his radio show that tapes in Florida, where the storm is expected to hit first in the continental US
Roker took to Twitter to denounce Limbaugh downplaying the coverage of Hurricane Irma
Roker caught wind of Limbaugh’s statements Wednesday and fired back on Twitter: ‘To have Rush Limbaugh suggest warnings about Irma are fake news or about profit and to ignore them borders on criminal.’
To drive home the point, Roker added the hashtag ‘#shameonrush.’
Limbaugh started his anti-media rant of the day by claiming ‘These storms, once they actually hit, are never as strong as they’re reported.’
He then suggested the weather maps of storms are created to only look terrifying. ‘The graphics have been created to make it look like the ocean’s having an exorcism, just getting rid of the devil here in the form of this hurricane, this bright red stuff.’
As has been broadly reported by various weather outlets, Irma’s 185-mile-per-hour winds tied the record high for any Atlantic hurricane making landfall.
Yet, Limbaugh did not cease to try and dissuade his audience, from his Palm Beach studio, that he suspects a more devious force is at hand when it comes to the way storms are reported on.
Those devious forces: the all mighty dollars connected to the media, and climate change adherents.
Roker is arguably the most recognizable weatherman in the country and did not take kindly to Limbaugh suggesting the coverage of the storm is over hyped
Roker added the hashtag ShameOnRush to drive home his point
Limbaugh insisted that ‘there is symbiotic relationship between retailers and local media, and it’s related to money. It revolves around money. You have major, major industries and businesses which prosper during times of crisis and panic, such as a hurricane, which could destroy or greatly damage people’s homes, and it could interrupt the flow of water and electricity.’
The money people spend when faced with a storm, is not to ease any issues they may face at the pump, or being trapped on their homes for days, as we’ve seen with Hurricane Harvey. Its the fault of the cash flow for the media.
‘TV stations begin reporting this and the panic begins to increase. And then people end up going to various stores to stock up on water and whatever they might need for home repairs and batteries and all this that they’re advised to get, and a vicious circle is created. You have these various retail outlets who spend a lot of advertising dollars with the local media.’
The local media, there to report on events that are affecting their communities are an issue for Limbaugh.
‘The local media, in turn, reports in such a way as to create the panic way far out, which sends people into these stores to fill up with water and to fill up with batteries, and it becomes a never-ending repeated cycle.’
He also blames the way storms are covered on those who tout climate change.
‘Hurricanes are always forecast to hit major population centers because, after all, major population centers is where the major damage will take place and where we can demonstrate that these things are getting bigger and they’re getting more frequent and they’re getting worse — all because of climate change.’
‘You have people in all of these government areas who believe man is causing climate change, and they’re hellbent on proving it, they’re hellbent on demonstrating it, they’re hellbent on persuading people of it.’