Rebekah Jones obtains ‘whistleblower’ status in Florida, but here’s what that actually means

This Friday, Jones revealed that she was given official “whistleblower” status under Florida law – a status that Jones and her supporters are using to argue that her claims against the DeSantis administration have merit. The status does not speak to the merit of her claims.

In a legal filing on Jul. 17 2020, Jones claimed that she was asked to "falsify data in a government website", charging that she was also asked to hide data from the public in order to deny the press access to it.

The Inspector General's order means that Jones could potentially be entitled to getting her job back or receive some form of compensation. Contrary to Jones’ reputation as a “data scientist,” Jones was merely responsible for overseeing a web dashboard at the Florida Department of Health. As detailed by the National Review, Jones has only managed to contradict her own charges and claims against her former employers, one of whom she even accused of being a “liar, fraud, murderer.”

Following her announcement that she was granted whistleblower status, Jones claimed that “the IG at DOH issued a probable cause that what I said is true after investigating,” leading many of her supporters to demand that her critics at the National Review and other outlets retract their pieces, which purported to expose her for con artistry.

Both the Daily Beast uncritically regurgitated her remarks.

“Florida’s inspector general has granted whistleblower status to Rebekah Jones, the health department worker who was fired after claiming that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration was fudging COVID-19 data—and who was then arrested for allegedly hacking the state’s emergency messaging system. “It’s pretty huge,” Jones told the Miami Herald after hearing the news. “This isn’t vindication, but this is a start. It’s a big push forward.” The decision means Jones could ask for her job back or money if the investigation into her allegations determines she was the victim of retaliation. But she still faces the criminal charges tied to allegations that after being fired, she sent a rogue emergency message to state residents urging them to “speak up”—which she denies.”

Once again, Jones’ claims operate on a level of simulation that runs afoul of the truth. The Inspector General did not, in fact, deem that her charges against the DeSantis administration had any merit.

Under Florida law, official “whistleblower” status is granted to any former or current Florida state employee who makes an allegation of wrongdoing by a state agency. It is not a judgment on the merits of those claims and is instead designed to shield the identity of any whistleblower until an investigation is concluded.

In fact, Jones has been widely discredited by her colleagues and others close to her, who have repeatedly said that she was far from being credible.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's communications director, Taryn Fenske, shared her remarks on the development, writing, "It’s ironic that someone would go public and deem themselves a whistleblower while also touting conspiracies all over social media. What good does this status have when you’ve already identified yourself and changed your story?"

Speaking to the Miami Herald, Fenske explained that “Whistleblower status doesn’t substantiate any claims. It simply provides confidentiality, and means someone made a complaint.”