Judge Tosses Out Project Veritas’ Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN

deadline.com:

A federal judge has tossed out a defamation lawsuit filed by Project Veritas against CNN, concluding that an on air statement made about the conservative group did not rise to the level of an actionable claim.Last year, Project Veritas, known for its “sting” operations against members of the mainstream media, sued the network, contending that it misrepresented the reasons that it was suspended from Twittter.In its lawsuit, they cited a Feb.

15, 2021 report in which Ana Cabrera said that its suspension from Twitter was due to “spreading disinformation.” In fact, the group said, it was suspended for “repeated violations of Twitter’s policies prohibiting the sharing—or threats of sharing—of other people’s private information without consent.”In his opinion (read it here), U.S.

District Judge Steve C. Jones wrote that Project Veritas reputation would have been maligned either way. He wrote that “while there is some difference between violating a policy by providing incorrect or misleading information and violating a policy by truthfully providing someone’s private information (and potentially exposing a person to harm), the distinction is not enough to make the statement at issue actionable as both violations are similarly damaging to the journalist’s reputation.

Project Veritas’s allegations and arguments do not plausibly suggest that the truth (as pled in the Complaint) would have a different effect on the mind of the average reader in terms of the reputational harm.”In the segment, Cabrera, speaking to Brian Stelter, said, “We’re starting to see companies cracking down to try to stop the spread of misinformation and to hold some people who are spreading it accountable, Brian.