It’s been largely under the radar until now, but third-place cable news channel CNN is facing a new problem: a potential jury trial to defend itself against charges that it libeled Project Veritas with a fake news report in 2021.

The long-simmering news finally broke wider on Thursday when Reuters reported the most recent developments in “CNN must face Project Veritas' defamation lawsuit, US appeals court rules:”

A U.S. federal appeals court on Thursday revived a defamation lawsuit accusing CNN of defaming Project Veritas in its explanation of why the conservative group, which is often accused of using deceptive tactics, was suspended from Twitter in 2021.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said Project Veritas could sue over CNN journalist Ana Cabrera's on-air statement that it was suspended for "promoting disinformation," rather than for publishing private information, or "doxxing."

Without ruling on the merits, the three-judge panel also said Project Veritas plausibly alleged that CNN acted with actual malice, meaning it knew Cabrera's statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for their truth. 

Screenshot CNN Feb. 15, 2021 of the broadcast that figures in the Project Veritas lawsuit

Project Veritas was founded by James O’Keefe in 2010. He left the organization in 2023. Over the years, it has produced and released newsmaking undercover videos documenting a wide range of corruption and cover-ups in the media and government entities.

Currently, the organization describes itself as “a 501(c)3 nonprofit funded solely by the American people:”

We are journalists exposing corruption in government, media, big tech, politics, education, and beyond through undercover video. 

The full text of the legal filing “VERITAS v. CABLE NEWS NETWORK INC (2024) United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit” is online here.

On February 11, 2021, Twitter 1 suspended from its platform Project Veritas (“Veritas”)—an investigative journalistic organization most well-known for its undercover reporting. Veritas's suspension made headlines. On February 15, Ana Cabrera and Brian Stelter, Cable News Network's (“CNN”) then-on-air talent, discussed Twitter's ban of Veritas during a broadcast. Their discussion, and specifically comments made by Cabrera during their discussion, is the basis of this defamation lawsuit.

Cabrera suggested on-air that Twitter banned Veritas for “promoting misinformation.” Veritas disagreed with this characterization and demanded correction, contending that Twitter banned Veritas for violating Twitter's “publication of private information,” or “doxxing,” policy. When CNN refused to issue a retraction, Veritas sued for defamation. The district court granted CNN's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, finding that Cabrera's statements were substantially true and thus not actionable under applicable New York defamation law. Veritas appealed.

After careful review and with the benefit of oral argument, we conclude that Veritas plausibly alleged a defamation claim under New York law. 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.2 Accordingly, we reverse the district court's decision and remand for further proceedings.

If this lawsuit goes to trial, the discovery and the testimony may reveal the questionable inner workings of CNN which – despite its being the original cable news network (1980) – has adopted a consistently left of center (and in this reporter’s view, biased) stance in recent years. President-elect Trump, for example, has derided CNN as “fake news” on numerous occasions for its biased reporting on him, his first administration, Republicans,  and the MAGA movement.

Now, with the tide turning after the results of the election of 2024 and the fact that this lawsuit is moving forward, the chickens may finally be coming home to roost.

Brain Flood, writing at Fox News dot com, added this to his comprehensive account of the Veritas-CNN lawsuit:

CNN is also facing a high-stakes defamation suit from a U.S. Navy veteran who alleges that CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. A civil trial in that case is scheduled to begin on Jan. 6 in front of Judge Henry in the Circuit Court for Bay County, Florida.  

Peter Barry Chowka, a venerable investigative journalist, has been a frequent contributor to American Thinker since 2007.