| WELLNESS CHECK
This edition leans... | | Hey Below the Fold fam,
At this point, we're all aware of the proliferation of fake news across the world. And in a country built on freedom of speech, a recent Pew report shows more Americans are now in favor of the government (or tech companies) restricting digital misinformation.
But what about things said by cable news show hosts? In full transparency, today's story riled up our team. We'll let you read on to understand why. | | Dissecting the nuance between cable news and cable news shows
Wed Aug 25
Back in 2019, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow told her viewers that a far-right cable channel was "literally paid Russian propaganda." In stating this, Maddow specifically referenced an individual employee's work history at a Russian news company before they joined One America News Network (OANN) — a channel once revered and favored by Trump. But OANN claims they never received any funds from Russia and filed a defamation lawsuit against Maddow. In May last year, a federal judge dismissed the case but OANN went on to file an appeal.
Last month, that appeal was also dismissed on the grounds that it was an obvious exaggeration and therefore not defamatory. This is worth unpacking. Legally, defamation must: - Be a falsehood of statement (an opinion can neither be proven true nor false)
- Have malicious intent (or at least negligence)
- Be published to a third party (so telling your brother he's crazy is not defamatory)
- And be proven to harm the plaintiff's reputation (by exposing them to public hatred, or damaging their business image)
So if Maddow made a false statement that hurt OANN's reputation, why was the case dismissed? The court argues that her statement was within the bounds of protected free speech and that audiences would recognize the obvious exaggeration. The ruling specifically stated that her statement — given the context of the show — "could not reasonably be understood to imply an assertion of objective fact." In other words, as viewers, we would never assume that a cable news show host is entirely factual. Put differently, the responsibility of detecting false statements is the responsibility of the listener.
This brings us to the often misinterpreted media space that cable news occupies, and if a cable news show could ever possibly be guilty of defamation. While audiences view cable news shows as a source of concrete news, courts treat these shows as opinionated entertainment. One law professor says this disparity dooms the U.S. from ever solving the problem of misinformation. Others in defamation law are more cautious about using courts as arbiters of truth. While the debate continues, Americans, as noted earlier, are voicing more interest overall in online misinformation regulation.
In the case of OANN, they're on the hook for $250K in legal fees and $10K to Maddow and her team. Ironically enough,OANN is also fighting against a defamation lawsuit for making repeat, on-air claims that the 2020 election was rigged. | | 🎬 Take Action As you review your reporting sources, consider digging deeper into the bias in cable news. Stanford has a detailed report evaluating CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and more. | | | OANN sued for defamation
1 month old | 3 minutes long | | | - Yesterday: U.S. law enforcement is struggling
- Friday: The global supply shortage is here to stay
- Thursday: The fungi-est thing about grapes
| | Say Goodnight to Clickbait What is painfully dry, littered with jargon, and too dense to get through? Any guesses? It's traditional business news.
The Daily Upside is your antidote. Packed with equal doses of charisma and insight, The Daily Upside brings you premium business news that goes beyond the headlines and is actually worth reading. - Want to know if rising inflation will erode the cash sitting in your bank account?
- Or why 90 new airlines have been founded during the pandemic?
Yeah, us too. It's why we subscribe to The Daily Upside. Sign up here to join 125,000 big-brained readers. It's completely free. | | \ / \/ .===============. | .-----------. | | | | | | | | | | | | | __ | '-----------'o| |o.| |===============| |::| jgs |###############| |::| '===============' '--' Honey, come quickly! The not-news news segment is on.
Art Credit: Joan G. Stark | | | |
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