Fact Checking the Claim That ‘The Guy Who Killed Bin Laden Is on Delta’s No-Fly List’

Robert O’Neill tweeted a photo of himself maskless on a flight.

By
27

A viral Facebook post claims that on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban and “the guy who killed bin Laden is on Delta’s no-fly list.”

As anyone even casually following the news has seen: The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in mid-August amid President Biden’s widely criticized withdrawal of American troops. An unknown number of Americans remain stranded there, along with thousands of Special Immigrant Visa applicants who assisted the United States in its wartime efforts. 

Keep reading with a free account
Create a free Dispatch account to keep reading Get Started ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT? SIGN IN
27
By
Comments (27)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. Avatar photo
    Ohio Gas Hog

    No comment on this one but there seems to be some dispute about if the umpire in Orioles game ejected the grounds crew. Can you do a fact check on that? What are your sources saying????

    Collapse
    1. Sharon R

      https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32217242/umpire-says-eject-baltimore-orioles-grounds-crew :-)

      Collapse
  2. Avatar photo
    Merrijane

    This story is kind of weird ... I flew to Florida a couple of months ago, and while there was a mask policy in place, we were allowed to remove them briefly while eating. I can imagine a situation where he thought he would be super cool to covertly take a photo without a mask and then put it back on. On our flight, an attendant was repeatedly asking a particular passenger to buckle their seatbelt, so it's hard for me to imagine him sitting there without a mask and nobody noticed. Delta says it investigated, but this seems more like a case of banning the passenger because of his potential to inspire others to cause problems than because he actually caused a problem.

    Collapse
  3. Avatar photo
    rlritt

    The point isn't that he is too strong to catch covid or die from it, the point is that others don't get it from him. I had covid. After I had symptoms I tried to remember all the people I spoke to those few days when I was infected while maskless. I felt terrible thinking I might have infected someone. I now wear a mask indoors except when eating. I don't ever want to feel responsible for getting anyone sick. Even though I am immune, you never know when the immunity wears off and I could be infecting people; wearing a mask is a small inconvenience that protects others.

    Collapse
  4. Brett

    Was he disciplined on the plane though, asked to put the mask on, he refused? If not, isn't this pretty concerning? Obviously you're allowed to take your mask off on the plane at various times. An airline shouldn't be allowed to ban you for publicly complaining that the mask policy is stupid.

    Collapse
    1. Laura Crowder

      In point of fact it is the FAA's rule not Delta's and I hope he got the maximum fine of $1,500.

      Collapse
      1. Avatar photo
        Probably Wrong

        This I think may actually be a hair worth splitting - government fines, like any other penalty, should be imposed following due process, and I don’t see this photo on its own as being enough for that (assuming, because I don’t actually know one way or the other, that Delta has no internal record from any of its flight attendants of having to admonish this guy)

        But Delta’s rules are Delta’s rules and need not meet standards like “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

        Collapse
    2. Avatar photo
      Probably Wrong

      And I feel sure one could find many people tweeting about Delta’s mask mandate in the abstract who are not banned from their flights.

      But providing Delta with photographic evidence that you broke the rule they say is a zero-tolerance rule on one of their private flights…boo hoo, what did you expect?

      Collapse
      1. Brett

        They don't say it's a zero-tolerance rule, and it isn't evidence he broke the rules. They allow mask removal to eat, drink, and I'm sure they generally tolerate it for a selfie. Again, it's thought police if done after the fact like this appears to have been. I have no problem with them throwing him off the flight if he refuses crew instructions.

        Collapse
        1. Avatar photo
          Probably Wrong

          If he took a two second selfie in between bites of peanuts and presented it as a rebellious refusal to wear the mask for the whole flight, who are we to gainsay his implied claim that he broke the rules?

          If he was taking a photo of himself following the rules to the letter with the caption “I’m no sheep,” gosh, that’s embarrassing.

          Collapse
          1. Brett

            Sure, but Delta shouldn't be allowed to ban people for being hypocritical or dumb!

            Collapse
  5. Avatar photo
    George.Skinner

    He can make it through Hell Week and the rest of SEAL training, but wearing a face mask is apparently intolerable.

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photo
      Merrijane

      It's just bullheaded pride, plain and simple.

      Collapse
  6. GregS

    Does doing something good give you carte blanche to do anything you want even if it's stupid, illegal, and endangers other people?
    If the guy murders someone in LA tomorrow and is put in prison, will there be a viral tweet saying "the guy who killed Bin Laden was thrown into prison by the socialist commies in California"?

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photo
      Pat Riot

      I really liked that movie, "The King's Speech" even though it was produced by Harvey Weinstein.

      Collapse
  7. Avatar photo
    Pat Riot

    Sad that a hero like that has brought himself so much shame. I felt the same way when I heard about Bill Cosby. He had some *damn* funny stand-up routines back in the day...

    Collapse
  8. CatoTheElder

    What useful things did I learn from this? Ummm….none.

    Collapse
  9. Avatar photo
    Jason Gibson

    So true but had nothing to do with who he was

    Collapse