On Thursday (7th November), a federal appeals court in the United States gave its nod to a complaint against CNN for defaming Project Veritas with actual malice.
Project Veritas, a US-based conservative group known for investigative journalism, filed a complaint in 2021 against the leftist propaganda news network for falsely claiming that the former was banned from X (formerly Twitter) for ‘promoting misinformation.’
According to the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in the Northern District of Georgia, Project Veritas has reasonably argued for its claim of defamation by CNN and its ‘journalist’ Ana Cabrera.
BREAKING NEWS: Fake News @CNN Must Answer for its DEFAMATION against Project Veritas. 🔥
— Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) November 7, 2024
The 11th Circuit just handed down an amazing victory in the Veritas v. CNN Case.
In 2021 @AnaCabrera accused Project Veritas of promoting misinformation on Twitter. That was a lie.… pic.twitter.com/kKSKI7xSXE
The US-based conservative group highlighted in 2021 that it was de-platformed by Twitter for exposing private information and not ‘promoting misinformation.’ Project Veritas had asked CNN to issue a retraction, which the leftist propaganda news network refused to do.
Thereafter, the group sued CNN for defamation. At that time, the district court granted the motion to dismiss filed by CNN. However, on Thursday (7th November), a federal appeals court reversed its decision and revived the defamation suit.
“After careful review and with the benefit of oral argument, we conclude that Veritas plausibly alleged a defamation claim under New York law. And although the district court did not reach the issue, we also hold that Veritas plausibly alleged that the statements were published with actual malice, an additional requirement imposed by the First Amendment in a defamation suit involving public figures. Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s decision and remand for further proceedings,” the court ruled.
It further added, “We conclude that, at least at the motion-to-dismiss stage, Veritas plausibly alleged that the implications arising from Cabrera’s statements are not substantially true and thus are actionable under New York defamation law. We further hold that Veritas plausibly alleged that the statements were false and were published with actual malice.“
Read the full opinion if you enjoy seeing Fake News get legally eviscerated. https://t.co/doKua78DG2 pic.twitter.com/SlX7mRLM0R
— Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) November 7, 2024
CNN is also facing another defamation suit from a US Navy veteran for smearing his reputation and falsely accusing him of illegal profiteering from refugees fleeing Afghanistan in 2021.
