Former president Donald Trump has followed through with a threat made in late July to sue the CCN news network for defamation..In July, Trump accused CNN of making defamatory statements about his insistence that massive election fraud was responsible for his defeat in the 2020 presidential election..At the time, Trump also said, “I will also be commencing actions against other media outlets who have defamed me and defrauded the public regarding the overwhelming evidence of fraud throughout the 2020 Election.” .The lawsuit, seeking US$475 million in punitive damages was filed on Monday in US District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., saying the network had used its influence as a leading news organization to defeat him politically, also claiming the network had carried out a campaign of libel and slander against him, the New York Post reports..The defamation included labelling Trump as ‘racist’, ‘Russian lackey’ and ‘Hitler.’.Trump’s attorneys said CNN “has sought to use its massive influence, purportedly as a ‘trusted’ news source, to defame the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically, culminating in CNN claiming credit for ‘[getting] Trump out’ in the 2020 presidential election.”.“CNN has undertaken a smear campaign to malign the Plaintiff with a barrage of negative associations and innuendos, broadcasting commentary that he is like a cult leader, a Russian lackey, a dog whistler to white supremacists, and a racist.”.The suit also cited anchors, personalities and pundits on CNN using the term “Big Lie” to refer to Trump’s repeated false statements about the 2020 election and voter fraud as evidence of the outlet attempting to associate him with Adolf Hitler. .By law in order to prove defamation, public officials and other public figures must prove journalists acted with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth in their reporting, a high legal bar to clear given First Amendment protections granted to the free press under the Constitution, reports The New York Post..Trump’s lawsuit comes as both parties deal with issues. .Trump is still dealing with the US Department of Justice over the FBI’s raid on his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, as well as a civil suit launched by the New York State’s Attorney General Office over financial issues relating to his business empire..CNN, which in 2020 settled a $275 million lawsuit brought by a high school student in Kentucky who was the centre of a viral video controversy which became a lightning rod for critics of mainstream media, has gone through major internal issues..Two major evening program anchors, Andrew Cuomo and Brian Stelter, have been released and Don Lemon was recently demoted from his primetime evening slot to doing mornings on the network..CNN was recently sold to media conglomerate Disney, with instructions from up above to tone down its left leaning narratives..The network’s new president, Chris Licht, has told staff he would like to see a renewed commitment to journalism over punditry and speculation, telling anchors earlier this year that they should rein in the use of the phrase “the big lie” when referring to Trump’s election claims, worrying it was too partisan.
