A consumer advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem over a bizarre video she posted about her dentist in Texas, accusing the governor of failing to disclose that her video was an advertisement.
The complaint, filed on Wednesday by Travelers United, a public interest nonprofit that promotes consumer rights, alleges that Noem not only received compensation for promoting the dental practice Smile Texas, but also that she appears to have filmed the video at its office in Sugar Land, Texas. The complaint does not provide any evidence that Noem was compensated for the video. The governor’s office has not commented publicly about the video or the lawsuit, nor has it responded to multiple news outlets’ requests for comment, including MSNBC’s.
Smile Texas did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment. An AP reporter who called the dental office spoke to a woman who “cited privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in response to The Associated Press asking to speak with a member of the practice.”
“No one with an extremely important job in the South Dakota would fly to Texas to receive dental treatment and then sit in that office and film an advertisement without some form of compensation,” the group said in its filing. “Kristi Noem acted here as an influencer. She likely either received free dental care in exchange for this advertisement, discounted dental care in exchange for this advertisement or she was paid and received free dental care for the advertisement. Unfortunately Noem did not mark this as an ‘Ad’ or ‘Advertisement’ when posting so she is participating in an unfair and deceptive practice.”
United Travelers is seeking to bar Noem “from advertising on social media without disclosing that she is advertising,” as well as damages and legal fees.
“Sitting politicians do not typically work as part-time social media influencers,” the suit says.
In the video, posted Monday…
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