President Donald J. Trump answers reporters' questions at a press conference Tuesday, July 14, 2020, in the Rose Garden of the White House. (Official White House photo by Tia Dufour)
The New York Times is being sued for $10 million for reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic that students at Liberty University were victims after university officials decided to reopen campus after a break.
Paul Bedard's "Washington Secrets" column in the Washington Examiner reported that in a 100-page suit filed in Virginia’s Lynchburg Circuit Court, the university charged that New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson and photographer Julia Rendleman ignored "No Trespassing" signs to tour the campus when it was trying to keep away outsiders who might be infected with the coronavirus.
Liberty claims the Times falsely charged that students returning from spring break became infected with the coronavirus because the university remained open.
In fact, no student, staffer, or faculty member on campus became infected, Bedard reported.
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The complaint says: "None of this was true. There was never an on-campus student diagnosed with COVID-19. The only actual 'viral' element of this narrative that existed was the intense 'viral' internet attention it generated for the New York Times' website and for those paying to advertise on that website."
The university was launched 49 years ago by Jerry Falwell and now is run by his son, Jerry Falwell Jr.
"It is the second embarrassment for the New York Times in two days. On Tuesday, prominent opinion writer Bari Weiss quit and ripped the paper in a public letter saying that the paper’s coverage is driven by 'clicks' and Twitter," Bedard reported.
Falwell said, "It’s just not right for the mainstream media to lie about and target conservative Christian organizations just because of their faith and because of their political beliefs, and we’re going to make an example out of them."