Category
Disinformation
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington

Oversight Board Urges Meta To Rethink Its Policy on Manipulated Media

An oversight board is criticizing Facebook owner's policies as “incoherent” and insufficient to address the flood of online disinformation targeting elections.

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Sandy Hook Families Demand Probe into Alex Jones-Owned Company’s Bankruptcy Filing

The motion, filed Aug. 25 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, says Jones has “systematically transferred millions of dollars” to himself and relatives, despite the company filing for bankruptcy to allegedly avoid paying damages to the families. In a response filed Aug. 28, Jones’ attorneys state that the families’ “motion is brimming with inaccuracies and allegations that have no basis in fact.”

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Infowars host Alex Jones testifies during his defamation trial in Austin, Texas, Aug. 2, 2022

What Does the Alex Jones Case Mean for the First Amendment and Disinformation? Leading Scholars, Lawyers Provide Analysis

First Amendment Watch asked notable and thoughtful media legal scholars to reveal what this outcome reveals and portends for other Sandy Hook families who filed defamation suits, another in Texas and the third in Connecticut, slated to start next month. Media and legal scholars George Freeman, Lyrissa Lidsky, Lynn Oberlander and Timothy Zick weigh in.

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Smartmatic Sues Two Conservative News Organizations for Defamation

On November 3rd, Smartmatic, an election technology company, sued One America News Network (OANN) and Newsmax for defamation over claims related to the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuits, filed against OANN in Washington D.C. and against Newsmax in Delaware, allege that the conservative news organizations aired dozens of reports accusing Smartmatic of participating in a conspiracy to rig the election against Donald Trump.

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Fox News logo

Dominion Voting Systems Sues Fox for Defamation

The voting technology company is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion in damages for spreading false information that their technology was used to rig the 2020 presidential election.

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Virginia Senate

Virginia Lawmaker Files Lawsuit After State Senate Votes to Censure Her

On February 1st, a Virginia state senator filed a federal lawsuit against the Senate of Virginia, the lieutenant governor, and the president of the Senate after lawmakers voted to censure her for speaking at then-President Donald Trump’s rally prior to the attack on the Capitol on January 6th. 

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Journalistic Solutions to Misinformation and Restoring Public Trust in the News

Join us for a conversation on February 10th with Nora Benavidez on how journalists and readers can help slow the spread of misinformation and restore public trust in news. The Q&A is part of our #FAWPublicForum event series, a monthly conversation with First Amendment experts on contemporary free speech issues. 

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Dominion Sues Former Trump Attorney Sidney Powell for Defamation

On January 8th, Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the suit alleges that during a press conference, rally, and media appearances, Powell “falsely claimed that Dominion had rigged the election, that Dominion was created in Venezuela rig elections for Hugo Chavez, and that Dominion bribed Georgia officials for a no-bid contract.” 

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