Operation Stormwatch South Florida

Operation Stormwatch South Florida

South Florida's home for HURRICANE, TROPICAL STORM, AND SEVERE WEATHER coverage.

 

WATCH: Fake Sign Language Interpreter Sends Wrong Irma Message To Community

As Manatee County officials broke important news to the community ahead of Hurricane Irma, a seemingly phony sign language interpreter stood nearby, providing false and incoherent information to the deaf community. 

Manatee County Emergency Operations Center delivered an evacuation briefing to residents last Friday at 12 p.m. 

A man standing next to the podium attempted to sign the message for deaf viewers, but misinterpreted officials' words.... pretty seriously. Check it out:

In the video above, the publisher has added sign language captions to show just how off the interpreter was in this situation. 

As the caption reads, this is a "Sad situation for Deaf people in Manatee County." 

Manatee County Marine Rescue Chief Joe Westerman confirmed to ABC News that Marshall Greene, a current lifeguard for the county, was the man who attempted to interpret Friday's briefing.

The Daily Moth, a deaf news agency using ASL, reported on the video, criticizing officials for not using a certified interpreter.

Alex Abenchuchan, The Daily Moth's deaf host, confirmed in his own report that Greene's interpretations were incorrect, writing in a response to the incident on Facebook that allegedly Greene only knows "some signs because of a deaf sibling."

The Manatee County Facebook page showed other press conferences after Friday's noon briefing. However, those no longer included an interpreter.


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