FILE - Generic gavel on wooden table. DOVER, Del. - Delaware’s Supreme Court has upheld a judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by conservative political commentator Candace Owens against USA Today and another media organization over fact-checking coronavirus posts she made on Facebook.After oral arguments two weeks ago, the court issued a two-paragraph order Tuesday affirming the July decision by Superior Court Judge Craig Karsnitz.Karsnitz said Owens had failed to state an actionable claim against USA Today or Lead Stories LLC, a Colorado-based entity.
Lead Stories, like USA Today, is paid by Facebook to publish fact-check articles examining whether certain posts contain false information, according to the court ruling.
Dozens of outside organizations, including The Associated Press, participate in Facebook’s fact-checking program.Lead Stories published an article in April 2020 about a Facebook post in which Owens claimed the way government officials counted COVID-19 deaths overstated the pandemic's scope and dangers.
The article labeled Owens’ post with the terms "Hoax Alert" and "False."USA Today said in an article that same month that a post in which Owens questioned the relationship between the counting of COVID-19 deaths and flu deaths in early 2020 contained false information.As a result of the articles, Facebook put false information warning labels on Owens’ posts.Owens claimed the defendants’ articles prevented her from deriving advertising revenue from her Facebook page and promoting her book "Blackout" on Facebook.