Top conservative personalities come out against GOP-backed Florida defamation bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Several prominent conservative personalities have come out against a piece of Florida legislation that would make it easier to sue media outlets for defamation.

Specifically, the bill by Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, would assume media outlets engaged in “actual malice” if they publish false statements given to them by anonymous sources, for the purpose of defamation cases.

The bill, HB 757, passed its final House committee Wednesday and is set to be considered by the House floor.

Former senior advisor to President Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, is among those prominent in conservative circles to voice opposition to the bill.

“Florida is on the verge of passing a new law to dramatically lower the legal standard for defamation,” Miller said. “This, after leftist judges and juries have been imposing one insane vengeful verdict after another against innocent conservatives. At the moment, there is no parallel ecosystem on the right. There is no Florida equivalent on the right of a NYC jury on the left. A jury of conservatives will bend over backwards to reach a ‘fair’ conclusion.”

“If Florida passes the proposed law to lower the standard for defamation expect leftist’ plaintiffs lawyers to spend the next generation bankrupting every prominent conservative based in Florida,” he said. “If you want to go after corporate media then pass a law narrowly tailored at them.”

Miller said the bill would cause alternative media and conservative influencers based in Florida “to get WRECKED solely because they are conservative.”

“Reject this law before it’s too late,” he said.

Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, is sponsoring the Senate bill, SB 1780. It still has one more committee to pass before Senate floor consideration.

Andrade has pushed back on those worried, arguing that some concerns are overblown.

LibsofTikTok is another prominent voice who came out against the bill, an account run by Chaya Raichik with nearly three million followers.

“This bill is one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation. It will basically severely restrict free speech in the state of Florida,” LibsofTikTok said. “If you live in Florida, please reach out to your local state rep and senator and oppose HB 757.”

Jack Posobiec, the senior editor of Human Events and who has over two million followers, additionally called out the bill.

“This will be used against every influencer in the state of Florida,” Posobiec said. “They’re already going after @ChayaRaichik10.”

Fox radio host Trey Radel is another conservative personality to express strong opposition and concern for the proposal, urging Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative leadership “kill this bill.”

Talk show host Dan Bongino, who has over five million followers, reposted Radel’s post calling for opposition to the legislation.

“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 said to Fox News Digital. “Signing this into law will destroy conservative media in this state.”

“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,” he said. 

And last week, the New York Post Editorial Board published a piece arguing against the legislation, calling it an “anti-free speech” libel bill.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who claims his state cherishes freedom, looks all but certain to sign them — more or less reprises of two 2023 bills that failed to pass but that seemed to enjoy his blessing — if they land on his desk.

[…]

Yes, the left-leaning media’s bread and butter is scurrilous and often preposterous accusations about Republicans and conservatives […] But choking off crucial First Amendment freedoms is not the answer.

The Federalist also sounded the alarm on the legislation, saying it would let left-wing groups “sue conservative media into oblivion.”

“Creating an environment that jeopardizes anonymous sources and encourages frivolous lawsuits will be disastrous for conservative media,” The Federalist staff editor Samuel Mangold-Lenett wrote.

Andrade pushed a similar bill last year, but it ultimately never passed.

Owner of 92.5 FOX News said last year that the station would need to shut down conservative talk because it would “expose our on-air talent and stations” to a string of defamation and false light lawsuits.

“This bill effectively neutering our Conservative News/Talk radio station in Southwest Florida, 92.5 FOX News, from which most of you have benefited,” station owner James Schwartzel said at the time.