GOP-backed defamation bill in Florida will 'destroy conservative media,' radio host warns
Trey Radel says liberals want to 'shut down conservative media' and Republicans passing HB 757 'would make it easier for them to do so'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Legislation being championed by Republicans in Florida aims to hold the liberal media accountable, but one radio host is warning it will be conservative media that ultimately pays the price.
Republican state Rep. Alex Andrade of Pensacola has sponsored a bill that will make it easier for Floridians to sue journalists and news organizations for defamation, something that is historically difficult to prove in court.
Trey Radel, political consultant and host at a Fox News Radio affiliate in Florida, has been an outspoken critic of the legislation (HB 757), insisting that since the premise of the bill is to "make it easier to sue the media," it will cut both ways.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Florida radio host is warning the existence of conservative media in the Sunshine State could be in jeopardy if Republicans get their way with their proposed defamation bill. (iStock)
"While certain Republicans may think that they're going to be suing and taking on The New York Times and The Washington Post, here's the breaking news: liberal trial lawyers are going to have a field day with center-right media in the state of Florida," Radel told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"Signing this into law will destroy conservative media in this state."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Radel, a former U.S. representative, says he "absolutely sympathizes" with Republicans who demand accountability from the corporate media but that it's members of the conservative media, many of whom live and work in the Sunshine State, who will face the consequences.
He has taken issue with several aspects of the proposed legislation. The bill cracks down on the use of anonymous sources, saying there is "a rebuttable presumption" that if a publisher said something false about a public figure that can firmly be debunked that the publisher "acted with actual malice." It allows any "reasonable person" to sue those who use artificial intelligence against them in false light. Additionally, the bill allows the plaintiff to file a lawsuit in any county as long as the alleged defamatory content was published on the internet.
"How do you think a conservative show host is gonna hold up in deep blue Broward County with liberal judges, because that person who is suing gets to choose where they're going," Radel said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida WFSX-FM radio host Trey Radel is sounding the alarm on HB 757 that he says will "destroy conservative media." (Courtesy of Trey Radel)
Florida-based media attorney James Lake similarly had several objections to the legislation in addition to the ones Radel listed. Lake pointed to a clause that would require a "veracity hearing" where a lawsuit would be rushed within 60 days when a judge, not a jury, makes a ruling, telling Fox News Digital, "This would violate the right to a jury and deny sufficient time to investigate a complex case."
Section 2 of the bill, Lake says, would "help criminal defendants go after truthful speech."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lake also slammed the "presumption" clause that journalists' use of anonymous sources who say false things is malice, saying it would "violate the First Amendment, because under Times v. Sullivan, actual malice has to be proven with evidence; actual malice is not to be presumed."
A GOP-backed bill that lowers the bar for defamation lawsuits is advancing in Florida's state legislature. (Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Radel is convinced Republicans who support this bill are "acting like liberals," stressing that the fallout of this bill if signed into law will restrict free speech, particularly by conservatives.
"I believe that Republicans are acting like liberals in the way that they are legislating out of emotion. They're not thinking. They're reacting," Radel told Fox News Digital. "And I get it. I sympathize with it. They're angry with the media. But this will open the door for liberals and liberal trial lawyers to engage in lawfare just like they are with Donald Trump. They don't even care about winning. They care about burying the voices. They care about censoring conservative voices. They care and want to shut down conservative media. And the Republicans are creating a law that would make it easier for them to do so."
Representatives for Rep. Andrade and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.