Florida Legislator's Defamation Bill Is a Shot at Long-Standing Media Protections
EsquireFeb 22, 2023
Weeks after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused legacy news outlets of increasingly favoring "preferred narratives" over truth, GOP state Rep. Alex Andrade has introduced a bill that would make it easier to successfully sue news media for defamation.
Florida House Bill 991 would seek to lower the standard for who constitutes a public figure, as well as broaden the definition of defamation, which Andrade argues would provide justice that is currently "almost completely being denied."
As the epicenter of the new conservative culture war, and after already passing legislation to attack education, history, and LGBTQ rights, DeSantis and the Florida GOP have now doubled down on their aggressive push to erase anything that goes against their backward worldview. It is also concerning that SCOTUS could follow suit on reactionary moves against the media based on legislation like this.
The immensely influential corporate media have been ruthlessly and, arguably, criminally defaming conservatives for a long time. The 1964 SCOTUS case was decided when news anchors actually reported the news rather than spent their days blatantly lying about Republicans. Today's world is very different, and it's about time someone on the right stopped cowering to the moderate faction of the GOP and started going after the elites.