Activists sue Fox News for spreading coronavirus lies. Should Devin Nunes be worried?

Ten people in Tulare County – where I was born and raised – have died from COVID-19 so far. Tulare County is also the home of Rep. Devin Nunes.

Yet the Republican congressman continues to downplay the coronavirus threat in his regular Fox News appearances. Now, an activist group is suing Fox for its campaign to mislead viewers about the virus. If people in Fresno and Tulare get sick or die due to misinformation spread by Nunes, could the congressman – who is currently suing seven press organizations – find himself on the receiving end of lawsuits?

With infections and deaths rising in his district, it’s not clear why Nunes continues to scoff at COVID-19.

“Tulare County now has more deaths than Fresno and Kern counties combined as its caseload has climbed to 168, nearly five times where it was a week ago,” reports the Visalia Times-Delta.

A week ago, Nunes went on Fox News to blast Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to slow the virus’ spread. Nunes labeled California’s dramatic measures as “overkill.” This happened on the same day that the Trump administration said COVID-19 could kill 240,000 Americans.

Even President Donald Trump is urging Americans to stay home, but Nunes appears to think the pandemic is a joke.

No one is laughing at the Redwood Springs Health Care Center, a Visalia nursing home where COVID-19 has now killed three elderly victims. Sixty of Tulare County’s 168 coronavirus cases appear to be connected to the facility, according to the Times-Delta.

Nunes hasn’t even bothered to tweet condolences. But he did make time this week to attack Gov. Newsom and blame “dirty rats” in the press for criticizing him, reported Carla Marinucci of Politico.

“I’m going to have to take them all to court,” Nunes said.

Nunes has gained infamy for filing multiple lawsuits against press outlets, including CNN, The Fresno Bee and the Washington Post. Oddly enough, Nunes’ threat to sue more journalists comes as his beloved Fox is being sued over its campaign of coronavirus lies.

The lawsuit by the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics says “defendants acted in bad faith to willfully and maliciously disseminate false information denying and minimizing the danger posed by the spread of the novel Coronavirus, or COVID-19, which is now recognized as an international pandemic.”

For months, Fox’s hosts have downplayed the coronavirus, denying that it poses a serious threat and casting the pandemic as a Democratic ploy to undermine Trump. Guests like Nunes have mocked public health orders to slow the virus’ spread.

Now, Fox may face consequences.

“Fox is now lawyering up, bracing for a litany of public-interest lawsuits and letters of condemnation for peddling misinformation for weeks prior to coronavirus’s explosion in the U.S.,” reports Caleb Ecarma of Vanity Fair.

Ecarma reports that Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman said on MSNBC that Fox insiders felt “real concern...that their early downplaying of the coronavirus actually exposes Fox News to potential legal action by viewers who maybe were misled and actually have died from this.”

For example, Fox owner Rupert Murdoch canceled his 89th birthday party last month due to coronavirus fears even though Fox hosts like Sean Hannity were downplaying the virus as a “hoax,” according to Vanity Fair.

“The misinformation that reaches the Fox News audience is a danger to public health,” wrote a group of over 100 American journalism professors in an open letter to Murdoch and Fox. “Indeed, it is not an overstatement to say that your misreporting endangers your own viewers.”

“If it actually winds up being proved that people died because of it, this is a new terrain in terms of Fox being possibly held liable for their actions,” said Sherman.

The United States Constitution makes it tough to sue for things some might consider free speech, and members of Congress have special protections. Yet the Fox lawsuit shows the degree to which some feel the misinformation campaign has crossed the line and endangered lives.

“Wrong on the facts, frivolous on the law. We will defend vigorously and seek sanctions as appropriate,” said Lily Fu Claffee, general counsel of FOX News Media

Can COVID-19 victims successfully sue Fox “News” for its consistent stream of misinformation about the coronavirus? Might the infamously litigious Nunes find himself targeted by legal action if the death toll in Fresno and Tulare counties continues to climb?

Tragically, we may soon find out.

Editor’s note: This column has been edited to include a statement from Fox’s general counsel and to provide context re the U.S. Constitution.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Activists sue Fox News for spreading coronavirus lies. Should Devin Nunes be worried?."