An impartial federal judge has issued a ruling in a defamation lawsuit that essentially alleges that CNN is a purveyor of “fake news.”
The case involves a claim brought by a hospital CEO over spurious allegations in CNN reporting that inflated infant mortality rates at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach.
The former CEO of that facility, Davide Carbone, asserted that the cable news network had manipulated statistics and ignored data that painted a different picture of the true rates at the hospital.
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The attorney for Carbone said that “the case against CNN certainly fits the description of media-created ‘Fake News.’”
In an 18-page order allowing the case to move forward, the judge agreed, saying, “The Court finds these allegations sufficient to establish that CNN was acting recklessly with regard to the accuracy of its report, i.e., with ‘actual malice.’”
Via Law Newz:
“In our case, we contended that CNN essentially made up its own standard in order to conduct an ‘apples to oranges’ comparison to support its false assertion that St. Mary’s mortality rate was 3 times higher than the national average. Accordingly, the case against CNN certainly fits the description of media-created ‘Fake News.’” said Carbone’s attorney L. Lin Wood, in a statement to LawNewz.com.
[…]
On Wednesday, Federal District Judge Orinda Evans ruled that the case could move forward, even ruling that she found that CNN may have acted with “actual malice” with the report — a standard necessary to prove a defamation claim.
“The Court finds these allegations sufficient to establish that CNN was acting recklessly with regard to the accuracy of its report, i.e., with ‘actual malice,” the order reads. CNN had tried to get the case dismissed.
CNN’s alleged false reporting had very real consequences for Carbone who lost his job thanks to CNN’s distortions of the facts. “False and defamatory accusations against real people have serious consequences,” Carbone’s lawyer said.
President Donald Trump has been consistently calling out CNN over their “fake news” reporting. During a January press conference Trump refused to give a question to reporter Jim Acosta, declaring “Your organization is terrible.”
“I am not going to give you a question,” he added. “You are fake news.”
The network, moreover, was named the least trusted name in news in Rasmussen poll conducted in January,
Cross-posted at the Mental Recession
