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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 night on her personal accounts on various social media platforms, Noem gushes over the team at Smile Texas for giving her “a smile that I can be proud of and confident in.”
The video very much resembles an advertisement in its tone and has raised questions about whether she violated ethics policies. Noem is among the front-runners for Donald Trump's running mate, and a state accountability board has taken unspecified "action" against the governor over ethics misconduct in the past involving intervening with a licensing authority on behalf of her daughter.
The video may also lead to an inquiry by the South Dakota Legislature's Government Operations and Audit Committee. State Sen. Reynold Nesiba, a Democrat and committee co-chair, has asked that Noem's video be discussed in the next meeting in July, The Associated Press reports.
“I just thought it was a very strange video about how much she enjoyed having her teeth done at that particular place,” Nesiba said.