The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, Colo., is threatening to sue State Sen. Ray Scott, who accused the newspaper of publishing “fake news.” A Colorado newspaper is threatening to file a libel suit against a state lawmaker who accused the publication of printing “fake news,” setting the stage for a possible legal battle that could test the definition of the most overused phrase in Trump-era politics. The episode began last week, when Colorado State Sen. Ray Scott, a Republican, claimed in a tweet that the Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction had published “a fake news story” about a bill that would change the state’s public records law. Daily Sentinel Publisher Jay Seaton, an attorney, wrote over the weekend that “Sen. Scott has defamed this company and me as its leader.” “To borrow a phrase from another famous Twitter user, I’ll see you in court,” he added. In an interview, Seaton said he would take a couple weeks to cool off before making a final decision about whether to file a suit but insisted that he was not merely engaging in tough talk. “This was libelous. This was a statement of fact — that the Daily Sentinel is a purveyor of fake news,” Seaton said. “That goes to the heart of what we do. So my legal analysis is this is actionable. I have seen this [media] industry sort of sit back and take attack after attack, both nationally and here. Why should this industry act differently from any other industry?…more detail
