CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A click-bait website with more than 2 million likes on Facebook used Billy Graham's name and likeness to get clicks, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association filed suit against the operator of the website GodToday.com.
The owner is "clandestine" and identified in court documents as "John Doe", the lawsuit contends.
BGEA said it has attempted to contact the owner and operator numerous times but to no avail.
Eyewitness News sent GodToday.com a message through Facebook Thursday but did not immediately hear back. A quick scan of the website did not reveal other ways to contact the website.
A representative for BGEA reached Thursday said he could not comment because of the law suit.
Attorneys for BGEA said that in a two-week period earlier this year the website posted 14 different posts concerning Billy Graham.
"John Doe simply republishes portions of Billy Graham's literary works -- some of them more than 40 years old -- without authorization from BGEA," the lawsuit reads.
Attorneys also said the website uses Billy Graham's image to generate likes on Facebook.
The lawsuit includes screen shots from Facebook with sponsored ads that use images of Billy Graham alongside text that reads "LIKE if you love Billy Graham."