Military pilot Jo Ellis said she had to hire private armed security for her family because of the false claims, which went viral on social media.

Military pilot Jo Ellis said she had to hire private armed security for her family because of the false claims, which went viral on social media.

A transgender military pilot filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a conservative influencer who falsely claimed on social media that she was flying the helicopter that collided with a commercial jet near Reagan National Airport in January, killing 67 people.

“I want to hold this person accountable for what they did to me,” Jo Ellis, a pilot who has served more than 15 years in the Virginia Army National Guard, said in a statement to NBC News. “It’s become too common that people can say horrible things about someone, profit at their expense, and get away with it.”

On Jan. 30, less than 24 hours after the crash, conservative influencer Matt Wallace, who has 2.2 million followers on the social media platform X, shared a post from another account he operates stating that the helicopter pilot was transgender, according to the lawsuit. Wallace included a photo of Ellis, and the post went viral, the lawsuit states.

  • Skavau@lemm.eeEnglish
    115·
    16 hours ago

    Soon after Ellis’ statement on Facebook, Wallace shared another X user’s post with Ellis’ video, writing that it was an “Important Update!” and adding that Ellis was not piloting the helicopter and is still alive. Wallace also wrote in another X post that the original rumor that Ellis had been flying the helicopter involved in the crash came from another account with the handle @FakeGayPolitics, which is no longer active. Wallace said the rumor “seemed credible” because Ellis, whom Wallace misgendered in his posts, “wrote an article calling out Trump’s trans military ban only a few days ago.”

    How does this logic work in his head?

    • floofloof@lemmy.ca
      51·
      15 hours ago

      I think their tiny-Trumpy-brained syllogism goes:

      1. Trans people bad.
      2. Helicopter crash bad.
      3. Therefore, trans people helicopter.

      Premise 1 is false, but other than that you simply can’t fault the logic.

      • iAvicenna@lemmy.world
        2·
        6 hours ago

        Yea unfortunately probably not his is but more like his followers’ are. He is aware enough of this to exploit it for his own gain. The thing to do is to have obligatory critical thinking courses each semester every year from age six to twenty two, repeat it so many times it becomes a reflex not a choice.

      • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
        14·
        12 hours ago

        trans people helicopter.

        “I identify as-”

        Yeah goddamn I bet that made perfect sense in his head.

    • Miles O'Brien@startrek.websiteEnglish
      32·
      14 hours ago

      “if someone said anything negative about me, I would gladly murder dozens of people JUST to make them look bad, therefore this is perfectly believable!”

      That’s the logic.