Idaho: Drag performer sues blogger for defamation over edited video

Source: Associated Press

Drag performer sues blogger for defamation over edited video

By REBECCA BOONE
September 28, 2022

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A drag performer has filed a defamation lawsuit against a far-right blogger he accuses of releasing a doctored video that falsely made it look as if he had exposed himself to children.

Eric Posey filed the lawsuit Monday in a court in northern Idaho, saying his reputation was damaged and his professional opportunities suffered after Summer Bushnell, who runs a blog called “The Bushnell Report,” released the video and falsely told her social media followers that Posey had committed a felony by exposing himself to children during a Pride event in June.

A subsequent police investigation cleared Posey of wrongdoing, and a city prosecutor said an unedited copy of the video showed no evidence of indecent exposure.

Bushnell’s false claims and the edited video quickly spread online, fueling increasing levels of hateful rhetoric targeting Posey and other members of the LGBTQ+ community, Posey’s attorney Wendy Olson said Wednesday.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/social-media-lawsuits-idaho-b659d38a64a221bc24695b586bdd249b