South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is facing a lawsuit that was filed by consumer advocacy group Travelers United on Wednesday over the Republican's supposed promotion of a Texas dentistry company.
The advocacy group claimed that the nearly five-minute-long video was an undisclosed advertisement for Smile Texas, a dentistry firm. The suit noted that Noem, as a social media influencer and a politician, herself is a brand. It added that the South Dakota governor promoted a service that benefits her.
Kristi Noem Lawsuit
The video that Noem's team posted featured before and after shots of recent cosmetic surgery for the South Dakota governor's teeth as well as a testimonial from Noem. The video seems to have been recorded inside the dentistry company's office in Houston, Texas.
At the beginning of the video, Noem introduced herself as the governor of South Dakota, adding that she was given the opportunity to come to Smile Texas to have her teeth fixed. The Republican added that she needed to come to the company to have an "adjustment" following a bike accident that took place several years ago, according to The Hill.
Noem also said that the team that helped her was "remarkable" and that they were able to give her a smile that she could be proud of. She later says that she chose to come to Smile Texas because they were the best.
The marketing video was simultaneously posted to all of the South Dakota governor's social media pages and ended to show an image of the dentistry company's logo. The lawsuit filed by Travelers United alleged that Noem acted as an influencer in the video.
The group said that Noem likely either received free dental care, discounted dental care, or was paid and received free dental care in exchange for the advertisement. The lawsuit continued to say that unfortunately, the Republican did not mark the video as an "Ad" or "Advertisement" when her team posted it, which made her a participant in an unfair and deceptive practice.
Promoting a Texas Dentistry Company
Noem and her political team have not answered questions as to why the South Dakota governor traveled so far to get the procedure. They also did not respond to questions asking if the video was used to pay or defray the cost of the work done to her teeth, said CNN.
Travelers United's lawsuit claims that there are many dentists and cosmetic dentists in South Dakota. It added that no one with an extremely important job in the state would fly out to Texas just to receive dental treatment and then film an advertisement video without getting some sort of compensation.
A counsel at Travelers United, Lauren Wolfe, said that it is clear that anyone who promotes travel products, services, or anything similar needs to say that it is an ad, an advertisement, or sponsored in the caption.
She added that the issue with Noem's video was that the South Dakota governor could have disclosed it as an ad but did not do so. Wolfe said that it could have been simple to say "ad" at the beginning of the caption or say something in the middle of the video that Noem either got free services or was paid for it.
