Axios Reporter Fired After Calling Ron DeSantis Press Release ‘Propaganda’

MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 08: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to the media about the cruise
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton

Axios fired one of its reporters after he responded to a press release from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) office by calling it “propaganda.”

DeSantis’s press release highlighted a Florida Department of Education event the governor hosted that set out to expose the “diversity equity and inclusion scam in higher education.”

The press release read:

These concepts are in no way inclusive, and instead force exclusion and division within higher education, and do not in any way contribute to learning or knowledge. As such, no funding from hardworking, tax-paying Floridians, including the parents of higher-education students, should be spent on these divisive initiatives.

However, Axios’s Ben Montgomery dismissed the press release as “propaganda,” according to an email made public by Florida Department of Education communications director Alex Lanfranconi.

“This is propaganda, not a press release,” Montgomery wrote on Monday in response to an email with the press release.

On Wednesday, Vanity Fair reporter Charlotte Klein reported that Axios parted ways with Montgomery on Monday.

Axios editor-in-chief Sara Kehaulani Goo confirmed Montgomery’s departure in a statement.

“This reporter is no longer with Axios. Out of respect for our employees, we do not discuss conditions of departure,” she said.

Although she did not give a reason for Montgomery’s firing, it is suspected the outlet determined he violated ethics policy that all staffers must “maintain professionalism with all sources” and “respect and be civil to all people we have contact with,” according to Fox News.

Montgomery seemingly brushed off his firing, joking on Twitter that he “made crepes this morning for the first time in years.”

“Some personal news: I made crepes this morning for the first time in years. Strawberry compote and whipped cream. They were delicious,” Montgomery tweeted in response to Klein’s tweet.

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.

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