<\/p>\n
A transgender US pilot filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a conservative influencer who falsely claimed on social media that she was flying a military helicopter that collided with a passenger jet in Washington in late January.<\/p>\n
Jo Ellis sued Matt Wallace, an influencer with 2.2 million followers on the platform X, saying he “concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign” against her following the crash that killed 67 people aboard both aircrafts, according to the lawsuit filed in the US district court in Colorado.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One of his posts, which garnered millions of views, said the Black Hawk pilot might have participated in a “trans terror attack,” falsely accusing her of intentionally causing the mid-air collision due to her “depression” and “gender dysphoria,” according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
There was no immediate comment from Wallace, who later deleted his posts about Ellis.<\/p>\n
The suit further accused Wallace of using his prominent stature on X, where he maintains multiple accounts, of seeking to “monetize a false narrative.”<\/p>\n
As tens of thousands of social media posts falsely accused Ellis of piloting the ill-fated helicopter, she worried that someone might track down her home using public records.<\/p>\n
She told AFP in an interview in February that she was forced to temporarily move her family to a new location and arrange for private armed security.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The damage caused by Wallace was “instantaneous and immense,” resulting in suffering for her family due to the hate inspired by his “lies,” the lawsuit added.<\/p>\n
Ellis eventually posted a “proof of life” video on Facebook, which quelled only some of the rumors.<\/p>\n
The threats facing Ellis, who has served in the National Guard since 2009 and has deployed to Iraq and Kuwait, highlight the real-life impact of disinformation for transgender people at a time when there has been a sharp uptick in the political rhetoric against them.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The transgender community has become a flashpoint in culture wars roiling the United States. President Trump has signed several executive orders targeting them, including one instructing the government to recognize only two sexes, male and female.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the crash, Trump had suggested — without offering any evidence — that the aviation authority’s diversity hiring practices could partly be to blame for it, making trans people a ripe target for online rumors.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ellis’s lawsuit is part of a trend that has seen defamation lawsuits increasingly becoming a tool used by US citizens and pro-democracy groups to hold misinformation spreaders financially and personally accountable.<\/p>\n
In 2023, Dominion Voting Systems secured a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News after suing over false claims that its machines altered votes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n
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