Appeals Court revives Project Veritas lawsuit against CNN

Elbert P. Tuttle Courthouse in downtown Atlanta, home of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. (Photo by John McCosh/Georgia Recorder)

A federal appeals court panel has reinstated a defamation lawsuit filed by the conservative media watchdog Project Veritas against CNN and remanded the case to a federal trial court in Atlanta.

The incident in question took place on Feb. 15, 2011, when then-CNN news anchor Ana Cabrera suggested on-air that Twitter had banned Project Veritas four days earlier for "promoting misinformation."

Project Veritas disagreed with the characterization and demanded a correction, contending that Twitter had banned Veritas for violating Twitter's "publication of private information," or "doxing," policy. When CNN refused to issue a retraction, Project Veritas sued for defamation in April 2021.

The case went to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, which tossed the case out of court in March of 2022. In February 2023, Project Veritas turned to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Project Veritas is a controversial group best known for its undercover video "sting" operations aimed at embarrassing progressive organizations, members of the mainstream media, and other perceived political enemies. Its founder, James O'Keefe, was removed by the board at Project Veritas after complaints surfaced about his treatment of staff, according to NPR .

The decision by Twitter to ban Project Veritas took place on Feb. 11, 2011, when Veritas tweeted a video showing its reporters trying to interview Guy Rosen, then a Facebook vice president, outside a residence.

Doxing?

According to court records, neither the video nor the text of the tweet accompanying the video contained information related to the street, city, or state where the attempted interview took place, but a house number could be seen in the background. That same day, Twitter suspended the official Veritas account on the ground that the video violated Twitter's policy against publishing private information (knows a "doxing" policy).

Cabrera tweeted about the ban that same day, writing that "the decision followed what a Twitter spokesperson described to CNN as repeated violations of Twitter's policies prohibiting the sharing — or threats of sharing — of other people's private information without consent."

The organization went to court after Cabrera said on CNN in an appearance with Brian Selter on Feb. 15, 2021, "We're starting to see companies cracking down to try to stop the spread of misinformation and to hold some people who are spreading it accountable, Brian. For example, Twitter has suspended the account of Project Veritas, a conservative activist, uh, activist organization. At least that [is] how they couch themselves with followers. ... But this is part of a much broader crackdown, as we mentioned, by social media giants that are promoting misinformation."

Stelter responded, "Uh, yes ... Project Veritas, a very controversial group, uh, got swept up in a Twitter policy by violating multiple rules on the site."

Retraction demand

Project Veritas' general counsel emailed CNN's general counsel, objecting to the commentary and demanded a retraction and correction. But CNN did neither, prompting Veritas to file a lawsuit for defamation against CNN in April 2021, which was subsequently thrown out by that court. Veritas then appealed to the Eleventh Circuit.

"After careful review and with the benefit of oral argument, we conclude that Veritas plausibly alleged a defamation claim under New York law," Judge Elizabeth Branch wrote in an opinion issued on Thursday for a panel that included judges Andrew Brasher and Ed Carnes.

"And although the district court did not reach the issue, we also hold that Veritas plausibly alleged that the statements were published with actual malice, an additional requirement imposed by the First Amendment in a defamation suit involving public figures. Accordingly, we reverse the court's decision and remand for further proceedings."

In a separate concurring opinion, Carnes wrote, "I never thought I'd see a major news organization downplaying the importance of telling the truth in its broadcasts. But that is what CNN has done in this case."