A federal judge filed a defamation lawsuit filed by Consortium News against Newsguard, a media classification site that gave the media low -confidence.
The American boycott judge, Catherine Polk Villa, also rejected the allegations against the American government, which was called in the lawsuit as New Zagard as a contract with the US Air Force Research Laboratory.
Read Newsguard decision.
Newsguard was launched in 2018 by Stephen Braille and Jordon Coveitz, a team of journalists to review news sites and give them a degree from 0 to 100, which is the information used by consumers and customers including artificial intelligence companies, search engines, news and brands and researchers.
Consortium News received a rating of 47.5 out of 100, with the “Newsguard” which is reported that “it repeatedly publishes wrong and misleading claims about the war in Ukraine and other important topics.” “He decided that the site was published again and again false content and not collecting and providing information responsibly.” Consortium News also objected to the NewSguard description of its reports from the “US Control Perspective”.
Failla concluded that the alleged defamatory data was protected, not implemented. The judge also concluded that the news of a consortium did not “claim reasonably” that the statements were wrong, and that the media outlet failed to show that Newsguard acted with the actual slag, a criterion that the prosecutors must meet in the requests for defamation ..
In a set of criteria used to determine their classifications, Newsguard “X” has placed red in its nutrition label for a consortium news when it comes to whether it “corrects regularly or clarifies mistakes.” However, the judge decided that the classification was a “protected opinion”.
The judge also wrote that the use of the term “anti-l” has no accurate and concept easily and cannot describe it objectively as correct or wrong. ”
Villa wrote that “Consortium News” “does not claim that her position is correct and that Newsguard is a liar. Instead, the plaintiff admits that his position is only one perspective.”
Konsortium News also claimed that the contract between the American government and the news guard violated the first amendment. But Failla wrote that a consortium has failed to show that Newsguard was “jointly act” with the United States government in a way that is due to state action.
The judge wrote, “The prosecutor argues that there was a” meeting of minds “between the government and the news guard to participate and work in a mutual way towards the similar interest in defining and suppressing” foreign propaganda “, enough to form a joint action. However, it is not enough that there is enough of any government, so that will be enough of the government, a good stable law.”
The military contract with newsguard ended in 2022.
Judge Hajjah Konorsium also rejected that President Donald Trump's executive order was to “restore freedom of expression and end federal censorship” as “a privilege by the government that demanding the first amendment has an advantage.” Failla called a consortium quote for EO “the legal equivalent of” Hail Mary “pass.
Consortium News lawyer immediately did not return to a comment.
Newsguard was the goal of the Chairman of the Federal Communications Committee (FCC), Brendan Car, although the Federal Agency does not have the regulatory jurisdiction of the special classification service. In November, before becoming a president, Carguard was accused of working in coordination with advertising agencies to strangle conservative votes. In the case it was a low classified classification to newsmax.
In response, Crofitz pointed out that “many conservative sites get more rating than the United States than liberal sites, such as Fox News gets a higher degree than MSNBC and Washington's examiner outperforms the New York Times.”
Low Newsguard classifications have also been given to left -tendeling sites. In the lawsuit, the judge indicated that “it is fair to say that Consortium News provided a left-wing news with an independent line-and somewhat there-“.
