The New York Times lost its first defamation case in 50 years, and this is not good for journalism, especially under the Trump regime. It comes as Trump is also suing the NYT for defamation, and has just appealed his defamation case against CNN, which reads as if he is hoping to chill opinion as well as facts.
NYT Defamation Loss
The “paper of record” was found liable for defamation by a jury after the paper incorrectly reported that a college basketball player was present at the scene of a fatal shooting, did not fully correct the piece even after being told by multiple people that the player was not present.
On Thursday, it was reported that the Alabama jury ordered the paper to pay the plaintiff $9.25 million in damages.
At issue was March 2023 article about a deadly shooting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, incorrectly identifying university basketball player Kai Spears as someone who was in a car involved in the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.
Spears was not present and was not accused of any wrongdoing. Reporter Billy Witz had relied upon an anonymous source who was described as a “high-level person, professional.”
“The Times corrected the article and added an editor’s note after Mr. Spears filed his lawsuit, which disclosed the identity of the passenger in the car for the first time,” the New York Times reported Thursday.
The Daily is fighting for democracy. Please support us by becoming a subscriber.
They didn’t publish an editor’s note correcting their error until June 2023, — which is after Kai Spears filed his lawsuit.
The Editor’s Note reads in part:
A spokesman for the paper said in a statement that the company was reviewing its legal options.
Trump Lawsuits
The paper is also facing, like so many news outlets, a defamation suit from President Donald Trump, so losing a defamation case is not a great precedent for journalism.
Trump wants $15 billion from the Times.
Trump alleges that the paper sought to undermine his reputation as a businessman and his 2024 candidacy for president.
A question that could be at issue is how could anyone undermine Trump more than his own actions, bankruptcies, adjudicated sexual assault finding, and convictions have? He need only find a mirror for the blame for the hits to his reputation.
But accountability is not the Trump way. The President is a greedy baby, demanding payouts from every news outlet that has ever reported anything factual (and thus damaging?) about him.
