Social Media Has a Field Day After Southwest Cancels More Than 1,000 Flights Over the Weekend
10/11/2021 02:52 pm EDT
Mandate
First and foremost, many people posted incorrect generalizations that these cancellations were caused by mass walk-outs and strikes from pilots and airline workers refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Southwest denied this, as did the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. It's also worth noting that other airlines have required their employees to be vaccinated for much longer than Southwest, and have not had any comparable delays.
Strike
Some of those commenters went so far as to call this weekend's delays an unofficial labor strike among Southwest Airlines workers, which does not seem to be the case. Still, the misinformation or disinformation spread quickly since critics simply accused the airline and the media of purposefully obscuring the truth in some kind of grand conspiracy.
Weather
As Southwest stuck to its claim that "weather" was delaying its flights, many sarcastic commenters described the weather in the areas where their flights were canceled. Most did not line up with the criteria to postpone takeoff.
Bots
Some speculated that the Southwest cancellations were being co-opted by disinformation campaigns, possibly using bots to promote anti-vaxx hashtags. To be clear, there is no data to support the claim that vaccine mandates are among the causes of this weekend's travel delays.
FAA
The FAA made several public statements that seemed like direct responses to Southwest Airlines, even if they didn't tag the airline directly. Some users were amused by the apparent feud.
Hypothetical
Some critics pointed out that even if the "unofficial strike" narrative were true, it would not be sending the message of solidarity that proponents seem to think it would. Instead, it would read as a cautionary tale to the company about the risks of having unvaccinated staff members.
Misinterpretation
Some of the most prominent claims about an unofficial labor strike were based on fundamental misinterpretations of the reporting on the cancellations. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was particularly guilty here, posting his claim along with an article that specifically refuted what he was saying. For information on the COVID-19 vaccines, visit the CDC's website.
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