A transgender helicopter pilot named Jo Ellis found herself falsely accused of causing a fatal crash between a helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington. The rumor spread rapidly on social media, with influencer Matt Wallace playing a prominent role in spreading the falsehood. Ellis filed a defamation lawsuit against Wallace for his role in perpetuating the lie, seeking monetary damages to be determined at trial. The lawsuit was filed by the Equality Legal Action Fund, a group of lawyers that defends LGBTQ individuals against defamation and harassment.
In recent years, successful defamation cases against larger entities, such as Dominion Voting Systems and Alex Jones, have set a precedent for holding individuals accountable for spreading false information. Ellis’s lawsuit is part of a growing trend of using defamation law to combat misinformation and conspiracy theories online. Despite facing constitutional and legal hurdles in proving deliberate malice in defamation cases, Ellis remains committed to seeking justice.
The speculation that a transgender pilot could have caused the crash emerged as a conspiracy theory following President Trump’s executive order attempting to ban transgender individuals from the military. The false accusations against Ellis became a trending topic on social media, causing significant distress to her personal life. Despite the impact of the rumor, Ellis remains determined to stand up for herself and the victims of the crash by holding those responsible for the defamation accountable.
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