A Washington state-based non-profit has launched a lawsuit against Fox News, claiming the network’s hosts spread false information about COVID-19 by suggesting it was a “hoax” or “conspiracy” during broadcasts last month.
The network, though, filed to dismiss the charge this week in state court against the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics, a little-known non-profit group that does not appear to operate a website.
The move comes after the organization claimed Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Trish Regan, who has since left the network, made erroneous comments about the coronavirus on March 9.
During the broadcast in question, Mr. Hannity said the media and some politicians were using the pandemic “as a political weapon against the president.”
“The mob and the media — well, they will be advancing their new conspiracy theory and their newest hoax. Probably, they will come up with, hypothetically, I’m just guessing, wouldn’t shock me, President Trump, Putin, mad scientists of Russia and Ukraine are manufacturing the coronavirus on purpose so they can hurt innocent children and kill grandma and grandpa,” the prime-time host said, though he also acknowledged “the coronavirus is a serious disease” and people should take precautions.
On the same day, Ms. Regan said Democrats were blaming President Trump for the virus, which originated outside of the U.S., as “another effort to impeach the president.” Although she said people should be careful, she said “the flu itself…can be even more deadly.”
The Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics says those statements amount to a violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act in that the hosts spread incomplete and reckless information about COVID-19, which caused viewers to not take adequate precautions, potentially resulting in “preventable mass death.”
The little known non-profit group was founded in 2017 by a Lewis County man, according to The Seattle Times.
Liz Hallock, an attorney representing the group who is also a Green Party candidate running for governor, said they do not aim to chill speech.
“But we believe the public was endangered by false and deceptive communications in the stream of commerce,” Ms. Hallock told The Seattle Times. “There are a lot of people who listen to Fox News, and they’re not taking the recommendations of public-health officials seriously. This is not about money; it’s about making sure the public gets the message this is not a hoax.”
Lily Fu Claffee, general counsel for Fox, dismissed the complaint.
“Wrong on the facts, frivolous on the law. We will defend vigorously and seek sanctions as appropriate,” she told The Times of San Diego.
In its 13 page motion to dismiss, Fox argues the group is being deceptive in its court filing because the network’s opinion hosts never labeled the virus a “hoax” or a “conspiracy,” but rather used those terms in reference to politics. Fox said the comments amount to political speech that is protected by the First Amendment.
