Former British Politician Criticizes Media’s Framing of Jackson, Mississippi, Water Crisis

'An Absurd Narrative Mississippians Can See for Themselves'

Members of the Mississippi National Guard hand out bottled water at Thomas Cardozo Middle School in response to the water crisis in Jackson, Miss., on Sept. 1, 2022. Brad Vest/Getty Images

As the finger-pointing over what caused the summer water crisis continues in Jackson, Mississippi, a proponent of the free market and individual liberty examines how local and national media coverage concocted two culprits—racism and climate change—to fit a narrative disparaging to the state while downplaying what he said is the true cause: incompetence.

For Douglas Carswell, President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP)—a non-profit organization that advocates for low taxes, light regulation, higher standards in education, and American exceptionalism—the divide between the media’s narrative and what the people of Jackson were seeing with their own eyes became a significant wake-up call for the state capital.