A Trans Pilot Was Falsely Blamed for a Plane Crash. Now She’s Fighting the Right-Wing Disinfo Machine
On January 29, a Blackhawk helicopter crashed into a commercial airliner in the skies over Washington, DC. The collision killed all 67 people on board both aircraft, including the pilots. But online, a different pilot—one that wasn’t even present—was being blamed for the tragedy. Within two days, the rumor spread like wildfire. The morning of January 31, Jo Ellis, a part-time pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard, woke up to messages from a friend warning that she was being named online a