DEMOCRACY

Right-wing Media To the Rescue

One DeSantis effort to undermine press freedom stalls

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not launch his planned attack on press freedom, because conservative media pushed back against it.

Several bills, proposed in February, sought to undermine state and federal laws that shield media in defamation cases. They ruled out reporting that reflect on a person’s character or past, and made it easier to sue if “the allegation does not relate to the reason for [their] public status.”

Under those rules, some reporting on N.Y. Rep. George Santos’ serial lying could be considered defamation.

One bill said the media could be sued if someone is truthfully accused of anti-LGBTQ discrimination — if they did so because of “constitutionally protected religious expression or beliefs” or “scientific beliefs.” That, essentially, erases truth as a defense against defamation.

The bills stalled because conservative media outlets, Christian organizations and business groups argued they could harm all media and lead to frivolous, costly lawsuits. “They were trying to hit the liberal media and didn’t realize it would be a boomerang that would come back around right at them,” Brendon Leslie, editor in chief of Florida’s Voice, a conservative…