Fox News Defeats Defamation Suit Brought by Former DHS Employee

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Facts

  • A federal judge on Monday dismissed the defamation lawsuit brought by Nina Jankowicz, a former US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee, against Fox News Media and its parent company Fox Corp.1
  • Jankowicz, a disinformation expert, was brought on to lead a short-lived DHS Disinformation Governance Board that was formed in May 2022. In her suit against Fox, she alleged she resigned from the board 'as a result of Fox's false statements and the ensuing harassment.'2
  • However, Colm Connolly, chief judge of the US District Court in Delaware, ruled that 36 of the 37 statements Jankowicz cited did not refer to her, but rather the Disinformation Governance Board as a whole.2
  • The remaining statement was not defamatory as it matched the wording in the board’s own charter, the judge ruled. The board was created to primarily counter Russian misinformation and false statements made by human smugglers to encourage illegal migration to the US.3
  • In his judgment, Connolly also wrote that 'It is undisputed' that the disinformation watchdog 'was a hypercharged subject of political debate,' adding that the board 'is fairly characterized as a form of censorship.'1
  • Responding to the ruling, a statement from Fox said it was pleased with the decision, describing the suit as 'a politically motivated lawsuit aimed at silencing free speech.' Lawyers for Jankowicz said they disagreed and that they would appeal.1

Sources: 1US News & World Report, 2Axios and 3Associated Press.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by The Guardian. Irrespective of the court ruling, Fox News' vitriol against Jankowicz spurred a campaign of harassment that forced her to resign from the role and led to the Disinformation Governance Board closing its doors. Democracy is now worse off because there's no way of agreeing on what's true and what's not.
  • Right narrative, as provided by US News & World Report. The judge rightly threw out the case against Fox. Their reporting did not focus on Jankowicz, but rather on the Disinformation Governance Board — highlighting that it was a form of censorship that was rightly subjected to criticism. It's for the people, not the government, to be the arbiters of truth.

Predictions