Donald Trump files $15B defamation lawsuit against The New York Times

9 pointsposted 7 hours ago
by manveerc

9 Comments

duxup

6 hours ago

It's just one attack after another on free speech that Trump decides should not be heard.

We're a lesser country for it.

sys32768

6 hours ago

Newspapers are free to publish defamatory information, but they cannot do so with impunity if their speech qualifies as libel.

So this could also be framed as an abuse of free speech.

We'll have to wait to see how the court rules on this case.

duxup

5 hours ago

They can't do so if they know that info is incorrect. That's it. They can be wrong for any other reason.

amradio1989

5 hours ago

Correct; however, in the internet age it is all too easy to verify information if you are remotely neutral. It would be nearly impossible to be ignorant of facts that contradict a story.

Generally, these news publishers are more interested in entertainment than truth telling. They get paid for monetizing attention, not telling the truth. They can’t outright lie, but they are certainly not bound by facts.

As the old saying goes, “Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story”. A newsroom mantra if there ever was one.

All that to say defamation suits are always a risk. The bar is high, but most “victims” are not rich enough to fight them. Those that are get settlements.

duxup

4 hours ago

> in the internet age it is all too easy to verify information

I have very much found that to not be the case.

amradio1989

26 minutes ago

I suppose we disagree. It requires effort, but I couldn’t call it difficult. What’s your experience?

You can pull unprecedented amounts of information about nearly anything. It’s easily accessible.

It was not even possible to verify the kind of “facts” we can today, much less at the speed we can do it now.

maxerickson

5 hours ago

We can call it stupid without waiting for the court.

If the court rules in his favor, we can call that stupid too.

Like does it really claim that giving Burnett credit for the Apprentice harms Trump's reputation? Stupid.

bediger4000

6 hours ago

I'm not up on NYT itself: wouldn't $15 billion be an existential threat, if so ordered?

Or is this just another shakedown, like the recent CBS and Paramount settlements? Does NYT want to merge, or buy other media?

duxup

5 hours ago

Trump's legal history long before politics has been to be as aggressive as possible, threaten everyone involved in the process, opposing legal council, judges and so on with his own false claims and so on.

In one lawsuit Trump's lawyers claimed opposing lawyers should be removed from a lawsuit because they're sexually attracted to Trump's lawyers.