Can litigation help deradicalize right-wing media?

I’m afraid I did not respond forcefully to the threats and defamation. While the former president was likely immune from civil suit, I should have sued those who amplified his campaign of defamation. Holding those who defamed me accountable could have deterred further attacks against me and subsequent targets. Thankfully, now that the former president is no longer in office and his social media accounts have been suspended or outright banned, he can no longer effectively defame people and reach an audience of millions.

Recent events have made the need for accountability more pressing than ever. Should anyone be surprised that viewers of right-wing media are radicalized when media personalities themselves promote radical ideas based on lies? As the most recent impeachment trial illustrated, when thousands of Trump supporters were roused to insurrection and attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, their rage was fueled by the Big Lie of “stolen elections” and “evil Democrats.” And the House managers rightfully sought to hold Trump accountable for inciting the mob to disrupt the peaceful transition of power. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has recognized that “[t]he mob was fed lies” and “[t]hey were provoked by the [former] president and other powerful people.” After voting to acquit the former president, McConnell further acknowledged that the rioters’ belief that “they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President” was “a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated President kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth.” Shortly thereafter, in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, McConnell wrote that “[t]here is no question former President Trump bears moral responsibility.”