What Happened to Matt Devitt’s Facebook Page – and Did He Get Fired?

Former WINK News chief meteorologist Matt Devitt is at the center of a growing media storm after his sudden firing from the Fort Myers TV station was followed by the disappearance of his 1.2‑million‑follower Facebook page. TV Weathermen and Meteorologists are no strangers to being part of the news story.

A Sudden End To A Decade At WINK

Devitt said on January 10 that he had been “let go” from his role as chief meteorologist after 10 years at WINK News, calling the decision a complete shock and noting he was not allowed to say goodbye on‑air.
The station has not issued a traditional public press release, but an internal memo from WINK’s general manager later circulated to staff said Devitt’s termination followed prior written warnings, a recent suspension, and what management described as violations of his employment agreement tied to a separate weather business.​

Why WINK Says He Was Let Go

In that memo, WINK executives alleged Devitt was spending time developing an independent weather venture, “Matt The Weatherman Inc.,” and using company resources while attempting to recruit WINK employees to join him, actions the station claims violated his contract.​

Corporate and trademark records show a for‑profit corporation under that name was registered in April 2024, along with a “WEATHERVIEW” trademark application covering weather‑broadcasting services across multiple platforms.​

The Facebook Page That Disappeared

While the firing drew swift backlash from viewers, the bigger shock for many came on January 26, when Devitt announced on X that his long‑running Facebook page had vanished overnight.

He told followers the page, which had amassed roughly 1.2 million followers since 2012 and served as a key hub for hurricane and severe‑weather coverage in Southwest Florida, was suddenly deleted and that he could no longer log in or get an explanation from Facebook (Owned by Meta).

Locked In A Battle Over The Page Name

Even before the deletion, Devitt had been publicly clashing with Meta over that account.
He said Meta’s rules around verified pages were blocking him from removing “WINK News” from the page name, leaving him unable to post new weather updates without risking confusion over whether the page still represented the station.

According to Devitt, he planned to rebrand the page as “Matt Devitt Weather” once Meta allowed a name change, but he claims repeated attempts were rejected and that he stopped posting altogether on legal advice until the branding issue was resolved.

When And How The Page Vanished

Reporters with The News‑Press and Naples Daily News confirmed the Facebook page was still viewable as of Friday, January 23, but became inaccessible to the public by the following Tuesday.

By that point, local outlets, advocacy pages and viewers were sharing screens and posts saying Meta had “deleted” the account and stripped Devitt of an audience he had cultivated for more than a decade.

Did WINK Have It Taken Down?

The disappearance of the page quickly fueled speculation that WINK may have pushed Meta to act, especially after a conservative commentator claimed in a viral video that the station “made Meta delete” Devitt’s page.

However, no documentation has surfaced to show that WINK requested the takedown, and neither the station nor Meta has publicly confirmed filing a complaint or enforcing a specific policy that led to the loss of the page.​

What Meta Is (And Isn’t) Saying

For now, Meta is not commenting on whether Devitt’s account violated community standards, impersonation rules, or verification policies, or whether a dispute over page ownership played a role.​

Without a formal explanation, it remains unclear if the deletion stemmed from internal policy enforcement, an ownership dispute tied to WINK branding, or an error that Meta has yet to address.

Where Devitt Stands Now

Devitt remains off the air at WINK and continues to say he disagreed with the station’s decision to fire him and was never given a clear reason at the time of his dismissal.

With his Facebook audience gone, he is now relying on X and other platforms to reach supporters while he explores legal and technical options to restore or rebuild his online presence—and waits, along with viewers, for answers about what really happened to his page.