The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

After spreading false claims, Michigan Republican wants to register, fine fact-checkers: ‘You better be right’

An advocacy group displays the message “Count Every Vote” in front of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing on Nov. 6, while the presidential election results in several states had yet to be finalized. (David Goldman/AP)

Michigan state Rep. Matt Maddock and his wife, Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, have repeatedly been called out by fact-checking journalists for promoting baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and falsely suggesting that covid-19 is comparable to the flu.

Now, the Republican lawmaker wants to create new obstacles for fact-checkers who might challenge politicians over unsubstantiated claims.

“My legislation will put Fact Checkers on notice: don’t be wrong, don’t be sloppy, and you better be right,” Maddock wrote in a Facebook post announcing his proposal last week.

Maddock’s bill, the Fact Checker Registration Act, was introduced Tuesday and would require fact-checkers to register with the state and insure themselves with $1 million fidelity bonds. Any fact-checker who did not register with the state could face a $1,000 per day fine. The proposed legislation would also allow anyone to sue a fact-checker over “any wrongful conduct that is a violation of the laws of this state.”

Critics argued that the bill would violate the Constitution’s protections for free speech. “This is an affront to the First Amendment,” state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Democrat, told the Detroit News.

Maddock pushed back on that criticism in a statement shared with The Washington Post on Wednesday.

“This isn’t about journalists or free speech,” he said. “It’s about the fact checkers who have been injected into our First Amendment right to be wrong if we want to. If a fact-check entity is bankrupting businesses and cancelling people with lies, they should be held accountable. If they have high standards and are doing good fact checking, they have nothing to worry about.”

Maddock and his wife have had a contentious relationship with fact-checkers and other journalists who have questioned their public claims.

The Maddocks have been at the forefront of conservative efforts in Michigan to combat coronavirus restrictions, and they backed attempts to undermine the 2020 election results.

The state lawmaker joined an effort to impeach Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) over her coronavirus restrictions as cases spiked last fall. In December, Maddock was one of two Michigan legislators who joined a federal lawsuit challenging Joe Biden’s presidential election victory, though he later sought to have his name removed after the suit was filed, the Detroit News reported.

He and his wife traveled to Washington on Jan. 5 and 6 to attend “Stop the Steal” rallies, the Detroit Free Press reported, and Maddock spoke to a crowd gathered near the Capitol before the deadly insurrection. (The Maddocks later condemned the violence that happened later that day.)

Not long after, the couple joined a Facebook group where members were discussing the possibility of a civil war following the insurrection, the Free Press reported. Michigan Democrats tried to censure Maddock, charging that he “perpetuated conspiracy theories and election fraud lies” in the weeks leading up to the riot at the Capitol.

In recent weeks, Maddock has been stoking suspicion against fact-checkers on his social media accounts.

In April, he posted a photo of himself wearing a shirt that said “Goolag” in the same style as the Google logo. He asked his followers if they were tired of fact-checkers “only body-checking conservatives” and suggested that the public was in the dark about who was fact-checking politicians’ claims.

“Don’t we deserve to know who they are?” he wrote.

Last week, he announced his bill to challenge fact-checkers “who relish their role punishing those whom they deem ‘false’.” He also claimed, without providing evidence, that fact-checkers have unfairly targeted conservative politicians.

“Many believe this enormous economic and social power is being abused,” he wrote on Facebook. “Who are these Fact Checkers? We’re going to find out.”

Despite First Amendment protections that bar the government from abridging the freedom of the press, Maddock is far from the first lawmaker to suggest creating a government registry for journalists.

In 2016, a South Carolina lawmaker floated a bill that would have allowed the state to vet journalists and only allow the ones deemed “responsible” to do their work. He later claimed the proposal was a political stunt.

Another state lawmaker in Indiana drafted legislation in 2017 that would have required journalists to get licenses. As recently as 2019, Georgia politicians considered creating a “Journalism Ethics Board” to enforce state-imposed restrictions on reporters.

All of those proposals were widely panned as likely First Amendment violations and did not gain enough support to become law.

The Jan. 6 insurrection

Congressional hearings: The House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol held a series of high-profile hearings to share its findings with the U.S. public. In what was likely its final hearing, the committee issued a surprise subpoena seeking testimony from former president Donald Trump. Here’s a guide to the biggest hearing moments so far.

Will there be charges? The committee could make criminal referrals of former president Donald Trump over his role in the attack, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in an interview.

What we know about what Trump did on Jan. 6: New details emerged when Hutchinson testified before the committee and shared what she saw and heard on Jan. 6.

The riot: On Jan. 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Five people died on that day or in the immediate aftermath, and 140 police officers were assaulted.

Inside the siege: During the rampage, rioters came perilously close to penetrating the inner sanctums of the building while lawmakers were still there, including former vice president Mike Pence. The Washington Post examined text messages, photos and videos to create a video timeline of what happened on Jan. 6.

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