The defamation lawsuit filed by Project Veritas against CNN has been tossed out by a federal judge, concluding that an on-air remark made about the group did not ascend to the level of an actionable suit.
Last year, Project Veritas sued CNN, claiming that it misrepresented why the outlet received its suspension from Twitter. In its lawsuit, they mentioned a Feb. 15, 2021, report in which Ana Cabrera stated that its suspension from the social media outlet was due to “spreading disinformation.”
However, the group communicated its suspension was for “repeated violations of Twitter’s policies prohibiting the sharing—or threats of sharing—of other people’s private information without consent.”
U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones wrote that Project Veritas’ reputation would have been tarnished due to those remarks cited in the suit.
“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,” Jones wrote.
“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.”
Following the judge’s decision to toss out the case, an attorney for Project Veritas, Harmeet K. Dhillon, provided a statement, which Deadline relaid.
“The District Court dismissed Project Veritas’s case against CNN because, in the court’s opinion, listeners don’t care whether journalists are lying or telling the truth,” Dhillon said.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s factual conclusion, particularly at this stage of a lawsuit. Project Veritas’ reputation is built on truth-telling. CNN clearly defamed Project Veritas by falsely stating as fact that Twitter removed Project Veritas for spreading misinformation.”