The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed to CNN on Wednesday that a data analyst their office recently hired is the same person who is alleged, in recent reporting from the Miami Herald, to have spread Covid-19 conspiracy theories online.
Fred Piccolo, a spokesman for the governor’s office, told CNN that Kyle Lamb “was hired as a data analyst 2 which is an entry-level data analyst position that has nothing to do with Covid-19,” and that “he is not a Covid-19 analyst.”
In a report published Tuesday, the Miami Herald quoted Piccolo as saying that Lamb’s role would not focus “exclusively” on Covid-19.
Lamb, a former sports blogger in Ohio, tweeted his job announcement five days ago, where he mentioned Covid-19 research as a part of the role.
“It’s my pleasure to announce publicly that this morning I officially accepted an offer to go work for Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Florida state Capitol. I will be doing data analysis on several fronts for them including but not limited to Covid-19 research and other projects,” Lamb tweeted.
Lamb’s attorney, Scott Essad, confirmed the authenticity of Lamb’s Twitter and social media accounts. He also confirmed that Lamb hosts a podcast called “Beyond the Fold.”
In a description of that podcast on the website Patreon, Lamb writes, “I have no qualms about being a ‘sports guy’ moonlighting as a Covid-19 analyst. 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 throughout the entire duration of the global pandemic.”
The Miami Herald reported that Lamb has spread “harmful conspiracy theories about Covid-19 on the Internet.”
“The science never supported masks stopping the spread, but people eat it up like sheep,” Lamb posted on Twitter.
In another post, Lamb wrote, “Viruses will mutate, it will lose potency and we will recover without needing to shutdown.”
Responding to a post about hydroxychloroquine on a blog, Lamb stated “If someone is funding a bogus study to attempt to discredit it, clearly it’s a potentially VERY efficient treatment and is considered a threat due to ease of production and distribution.”
DeSantis’s communication director has retweeted Lamb in the past. Lamb has also been mentioned by name by a Fox News guest.
Essad said Lamb stands by his posts on masks, hydroxychloroquine and lockdowns.
“All I care about is that he keeps his job,” Essad said.
Essad points to the Ohio football blogging community for the recent attention Lamb has received regarding his new job, claiming the bloggers did not like Lamb’s opinions on Ohio State football and are out to get him.
The state of Florida has reported more than 858,000 cases of Covid-19 and 17,300 deaths statewide. On Wednesday, 3,056 people were hospitalized in Florida for Covid-19, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
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