Local Biloxi news anchor David “Dave” Elliott has been fired for expressing political views on social media during his free time.
Elliott worked at WLOX for nearly four decades. He once joked about dying of old age in his anchor chair. But as of Friday, he found himself out of a job.
“I’m no longer at WLOX as of 10-25-24. The corporation doesn’t like my political views,” he shared on Facebook.
Recently, he posted a video suggesting that people shouldn’t vote if their motivation stems from hatred for former President Trump.
“This is so unlike me because I’m usually a ‘vote, vote, vote!’ guy,” he stated. “If your hatred for Donald Trump is so strong… do yourself, do the country, do the world a favor and just sit it out.”
Since August, Elliott has made several political videos, even tagging figures like Elon Musk and Juanita Broaddrick.
Elliott told the Sun Herald that general manager Rick Williams informed him of his termination. “X was brought up in the conversation,” he recalled. The discussion lasted only about 30 seconds.
Elliott argues that his social media posts are satire. He sees a clear distinction between his paid journalism work and his online content.
“I don’t consider social media journalism,” he emphasized. “Social media is a toy. I have fun. I play.”