Meteorologist Fired For Instagram Blast At Elon Musk: What It Means For Other Meteorologists

Sam Kuffel a Milwaukee television meteorologist, was
fired after she posted on social media criticisms of
Elon Musk after he made gestures that many 
believed to be Nazi salutes. 

A television meteorologist named Sam Kuffel was fired recently from a Wisconsin television station for blasting Elon Musk's gesture during President Trump's inauguration. 

The meteorologists, who had worked at WDJT CBS58 in Milwaukee for more than five years, was canned not long after her rather strident posts. 

I know this is a weather and climate blog, and the only relation to these topics is the fact that a meteorologist was involved, but it's an important topic. So I ought to cover it. 

More importantly, what is the duty of on-air meteorologists to report facts that contradict the Trump administration?   With Trump's climate denial, it's more important than ever for meteorologists to offer true but not sensationalized information on climate change.  Should meteorologists speak up if the Trump administration blunts the expertise and truthfulness from the National Weather Service? How far should meteorologist go to speak truth to power?

Unfortunately, Kuffel, likely unwittingly, chose a not-so-important hill to die on. Sure, Nazi salutes are beyond horrible, and they need to be called out. But we face years of climate denial, anti-science gaslighting that needs to be combated full-throatedly. 

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, Kuffel posted a picture of Musk doing his thing and wrote "Dude Nazi saluted twice. TWICE. During the inauguration." You (expletive) with this and this man, I don't (expletive) with you. Full stop."

She then posted a GIF from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" with a caption. "Screw that old (expletive). He's a Nazi."

Her posts caught the attention of conservative activists, as these things do.  Radio host Dan O'Donnell accused Kuffel of "spreading the lie that Elon Musk was giving a Nazi salute."

To me, it sure looked like a Nazi salute, though Musk's defender said it was just an awkward gesture, not intended to support Nazis. I would have liked a statement from Musk explaining what happened, but he's not one to do that. 

For her part, Kuffel said she "never intended to harm anyone" with those social media posts. "I was just voicing my personal opinion on a private social media account that was not accessible to the general public."

There's actually more moving parts here than you'd think.   Many news organizations have codes of conduct when it comes to social media.  When I worked at the Burlington Free Press until 2013, I already had active social media accounts.

I had to be careful what I posted so as not to make my political opinions known. It was part of our code of conduct, something many news organizations have.  Given the need to not appear biased, journalists need to keep their political opinions close to their chests, even when they're not on the clock. 

"People who aren't bound by journalist codes of ethics can give any opinion they want, and it doesn't have to be nuanced, but it's an opinion....If you're related to a media organization, you have a deeper responsibility to show your math," said Jill Geisler, the Bill Planet Chair in Leadership and Media Integrity and Loyola University Chicago told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel .

It's unclear whether CBS58 had a code of conduct, as it's not displayed on its website. For transparency's sake, many news organizations publish their conduct codes online.

This gets into First Amendment issues, too.  Yes, an employer can fire you for your actions, even if you were not at work when you did them. 

But Musk is now at least nominally part of the federal government. The First Amendment guarantees the right of free speech free of government suppression.  Neither Musk nor anybody in the Trump administration ordered the television station to fire Kuffel.

However, given the current political climate, did the station feel compelled to can the meteorologist, to protect itself from whatever repercussions they might receive from Trump's minions? 

The bottom line is on air meteorologists have more responsibility than ever to tell the truth about everything, even if it touches on politics.

I hear people say meteorologists should exclusively stick to the weather forecast. Just tell us if we need to bring an umbrella today.   But partly sunny with a chance of showers is only part of their job. The meteorologists on your local television stations are also journalists. 

Most of them, I trust, have more than enough integrity to give us the science and climate news with the best information available. 

The Kuffle firing over Musk's likely Nazi salute probably is just a sideshow that has already exhausted its life in today's rapid fire news cycle. 

But it's a signal to us all.  Meteorologists have a responsibility to tell us the truth. And the public has the right to demand it.