CNN Suffers Brutal Legal Defeat In High-Profile Defamation Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has ruled in favor of Project Veritas in a high-profile defamation case. The appeals court decision represents a major victory for Project Veritas and its founder, James O’Keefe, who has repeatedly argued that CNN misrepresented the organization’s actions in its news coverage.

The lawsuit dates back to early 2021, when Twitter suspended Project Veritas’s account, claiming the organization violated its rules on privacy by allegedly doxxing individuals. Following the suspension, CNN reported on the ban, and CNN anchors Ana Cabrera and Brian Stelter claimed that Project Veritas was banned for “promoting misinformation.” Project Veritas, known for its undercover investigations into major media companies and left-leaning organizations, immediately pushed back, asserting that CNN’s statements mischaracterized the nature of its suspension.

In response, Project Veritas filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN, arguing that the cable network had knowingly made false statements to damage its credibility. The organization’s complaint hinged on proving that CNN acted with “actual malice”—the legal standard for defamation cases involving public figures—by knowingly or recklessly disregarding the truth. This threshold is high, as plaintiffs must demonstrate that defendants knew their statements were false or acted with a reckless disregard for the truth.

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Initially, the case was dismissed by the district court, which concluded that Project Veritas had not sufficiently demonstrated actual malice on CNN’s part. However, the appeals court reversed this decision, determining that Project Veritas presented sufficient evidence to potentially prove that CNN’s statements were defamatory under New York law. The court noted that CNN’s reporting did not align with Twitter’s stated reason for the suspension, suggesting that the network may have acted with disregard for the truth when it attributed the suspension to the promotion of misinformation.

In the opinion, the Eleventh Circuit said that Project Veritas’s claims could potentially meet the actual malice standard because CNN’s misstatement could not be justified by Twitter’s public statements on the suspension. The appellate court argued that Twitter’s rationale, based on its privacy policy, should have raised questions within CNN about the accuracy of its reporting. Furthermore, the court highlighted that CNN’s coverage, and the involvement of its well-known anchors, could indicate a deliberate mischaracterization, noting that a significant distinction exists between a suspension for privacy violations and one for promoting misinformation.

“If you stay on the bench long enough, you see a lot of things. Still, I never thought I’d see a major news organization downplaying the importance of telling the truth in its broadcasts. But that is what CNN has done,” said Judge Ed Carnes.

O’Keefe responded to the ruling on social media, “We had to sue CNN. I had to go to the federal judge in Georgia, and the federal judge ruled against me… I had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not a million, going to the 11th Circuit, wait two years, and get this judgment.”

WATCH:

BREAKING: O’Keefe Scores Victory in 11th Circuit of Appeals Against CNN in Defamation Case pic.twitter.com/h87Vwe5SSR

— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) November 11, 2024

“Anna Cabrera told CNN’s national television audience that Twitter had suspended Veritas for publishing and promoting misinformation. But in reality…Twitter had suspended Veritas for a decidedly different reason, for publishing truthful but supposedly private information,” he explained.

“This is a victory for the First Amendment. This is a victory against fake news,” he said. He also reflected on the personal irony of Project Veritas’s board firing him after he took on the costly lawsuit. “Project Veritas Corporation fires me, the chairman, the CEO and founder, in part for doing the very thing that Project Veritas is now taking a victory lap on.”

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