Right-wing media weaponize the East Palestine train derailment to claim white conservatives are being persecuted – By Ruby Seavey & Payton Armstrong (Media Matters) / Feb 15, 2023
Right-wing media have used the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, to baselessly claim that the government’s response and lack of substantial media coverage are because the afflicted county is primarily white and conservative. Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk even went as far to say that this incident is proof that there is a “war on white people.”
On February 3, 2023, a train carrying chemicals and other hazardous materials derailed — and subsequently caught fire — in East Palestine, Ohio. Fearful of a potentially dangerous explosion resulting from “unstable” substances, many residents were instructed to evacuate and schools were temporarily closed while “authorities performed a controlled release of the toxic materials from five train car tankers on Feb. 6, and the contents were diverted to a trench and burned off.” Residents were allowed to return on February 8, and on February 12, the Environmental Protection Agency said it did not detect harmful substances at “levels of concern.” Despite being told they are safe, some residents have reported feeling sick since the incident.
Thus far, national television coverage of this story has been minimal and lacking in important context about the rail industry’s campaign to loosen the regulations that govern the transportation of hazardous materials. Though right-wing media have suggested that this is because East Palestine residents are white Trump supporters, this inadequate coverage reflects a pattern Media Matters has consistently documented: The media’s coverage of environmental and public health crises — particularly when they affect communities of color — is frequently poor both in quantity and quality.
