Earlier this week, there was substantial outrage from critics over a social media post by the official Nevada Democratic State Party (NV Dems).
The Nevada Democrats shared a meme on social media with a picture of Governor Joe Lombardo along with the following message: "The bribes I took did not influence me to be evil. I was evil from the beginning, and the bribes were merely a bonus."
We consulted with UNR media law professor Patrick File, who explains that despite the apparent defamatory nature of the post, there are no legal grounds for action.
"Quite unlikely that this crosses a legal line into defamation, a false statement that harms the reputation of the governor," said University of Nevada Reno, Reynolds School of Journalism, Associate Media Law Professor Patrick File.
The Nevada Democrats faced ridicule on social media. Even the founder of the respected nonprofit political news and opinion website, Jon Ralston, exclaimed, "Really NVDems? What in the world is this?"
Nevada Independent Founder Jon Ralston Reacts to NV Dems Underhanded Post
"The Democrats tend to stick together. We saw this. They stuck to the same messaging nationally, state, and on individual members; you can see it from their constant tweets. They are very coordinated in their tweets on a particular topic," said Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant (R-Las Vegas).
After facing more than five hours of backlash on Tuesday, the official NV Dems account deleted the post. They stated that the picture had copyright issues. 2 News Nevada confirmed that the photography company, which owns the image of Governor Lombardo, sent the NV Dems a message asking them to take it down. We also reached out to the photographer but have not heard back.
Professor Patrick File emphasizes the importance of not overlooking the copyright issue.
"On a certain level, there is the Jon Ralston; we should be better. You know political rhetoric beyond the pale, but you know there was part of me that, as a media law professor, was like, we gotta be better on copyright too!" said File.
Professor File emphasizes that consistent polling indicates that people are weary of divisive political rhetoric, especially the outrage generated in response to controversial posts. He suggests that serving a lawsuit threat can deter the other party from making derogatory attacks.
"In the world of media law and the world of First Amendment law, we refer to this as a chilling effect. There can be a chilling effect on critics, where people threaten the lawsuit because they're expensive and punitive. Nobody wants to go and spend hours sitting with lawyers sorting out what was true and what wasn't true." File stated.
The Nevada Democrats stand by their message.
"From being bankrolled by a billionaire slum lord, and then vetoing housing legislation, and tenant protection legislation. To vetoing a bill that would lower prescription drug prices before taking 100-thousand dollars in campaign cash from big drug companies," said Nevada Democratic State Party Communications Director Tai Sims.
Despite all the vitriol we may see in the coming months from both parties, it's all protected by some of the most robust free speech laws in the world, by virtue of the United States Constitution.
"Folks are sometimes surprised, I guess, at just how well protected truly harsh and strong political speech is by the First Amendment. There are certainly social and political consequences," said Professor Patrick File.
In response to the Nevada Democrats claiming that the Governor engaged in bribery (a felony), Republican Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant posted a video on X explaining that she was disappointed and found it "interesting that the Nevada Democratic Party Communications Director does not seem to understand the difference between an illegal bribe and a legal campaign contribution." She also pointed out that both parties take campaign contributions from special interest groups.
