Trump Campaign Sues Wisconsin TV Station for Airing False 'Coronavirus Hoax' Ad

Contrary to a popular liberal narrative, President Donald Trump never called the coronavirus itself a "hoax," but a pro-Biden Super PAC, Priorities USA Action, launched a video ad twisting Trump's words at a rally in order to make it seem like he had. When a TV station in Wisconsin aired the ad, the Trump campaign responded with a cease-and-desist letter, citing numerous fact-checks proving the ad false. The station kept running the ad, anyway.

On Monday, the Trump campaign filed a defamation lawsuit against the TV station, WJFW-NBC of Rhinelander, Wisc.

"It is disappointing that WJFW-NBC would knowingly continue to broadcast this blatantly false ad and perpetrate falsehoods on the American people, even after the Trump campaign provided proof in good faith of the ad’s falsity," Jenna Ellis, senior legal advisor to the campaign, said in a statement. "We fully expected the station would recognize their error and immediately cease under their FCC obligations."

"The Trump campaign is now left with no other option than to use the force of law to ensure these false and defamatory ads cease. Defamation law helps ensure that news outlets are accountable to viewers, who should be able to trust the accuracy and truth of content aired to the public," Ellis added.

Many independent fact-checkers have explained that the "Trump called the coronavirus a hoax" line is a flat-out lie. On the night of the president's rally, Slate's Will Saletan noted that Trump "was saying the hoax is that he's handled it badly. Not the virus itself."

In the lawsuit, the Trump campaign also explains that since WJFW-NBC is a licensed broadcast TV station under the Communications Act of 1934, it has an "obligation to operate in the public interest," including a "responsibility to protect the public from false, misleading, and deceptive advertising." This makes the TV station liable for the deceptive ad, the lawsuit argues.

This is far from the first time the Trump campaign has sued a media outlet for false statements. In February and March, the campaign sued The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN for defamation over false Russia collusion claims.

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