Fox News sued for calling conservavirus a hoax

Conservavirus threatens lives in a variety of ways, but it doesn't help that people were encouraged to let their guard down earlier in the crisis.

Some weeks back, Fox News insisted the virus was a hoax. Now a little-known organization in Washington state is suing the channel along with cable companies that carry it because of this claim.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday in the Seattle area and seeks an injunction to bar the channel from "interfering with reasonable and necessary measures to contain the virus by publishing further false and deceptive content." Because of the channel's denial, there are still people who believe the virus is a hoax. The suit asks for relief under the state's Consumer Protection Act.

Sadly, Fox News isn't the only offender. Far from it. Some outlets are more into apocalyptic views than outright denial, but both stances are deceptive and harmful to public health.

Some have said the First Amendment protects Fox News. There's some problems with that, however. The airwaves are supposed to be a public trust. The FCC used to be very unkind towards outlets that distorted news.

Also, lockdowns violate the First Amendment right to peaceably assemble. So why are we suddenly so concerned about the First Amendment while it's being violated to a degree not seen in modern times?

If this pandemic is ever allowed to end, we need to crack down hard on the fake news media. I hope to see a long string of lawsuits against media organizations for their coverage of a variety of stories.