Fox News was hit this week with yet another defamation lawsuit, this one from a woman who said the network promoted lies about her that generated serious threats to her safety and harmed her career prospects. In other words, business as usual! Via the New York Times:
The suit was filed on behalf of Nina Jankowicz, the former executive director of a short-lived Department of Homeland Security division assigned with coordinating efforts to monitor and address disinformation threats to national security. Right-wing pundits and politicians falsely portrayed her group as part of an Orwellian bid to control the speech and thought of ordinary Americans.
Ms. Jankowicz, a prominent specialist in Russian disinformation and online harassment, became the primary subject of their attacks. In 300 mentions over eight months on Fox last year, she was repeatedly demeaned and defamed in highly personal language, the lawsuit asserts. Hosts including Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo and Sean Hannity said her job was “to silence anyone who criticizes the Biden administration” and possibly even, as Mr. Carlson warned, “get men with guns to tell you to shut up.”
The unit Ms. Jankowicz briefly headed, called the Disinformation Governance Board, had no such powers, or any direct authority to affect speech. The department created it to help unify and oversee existing efforts by its various divisions to monitor and defend against disinformation from foreign agents seeking to influence elections; cartels promoting human smuggling operations; and those seeking to undermine the government’s public health and safety efforts.
Jankowicz resigned to escape the threats. Fox hosts and guests said she was fired.
We're all familiar with the Fox treatment of Democratic politicians. After all, it's their business model! But attacks on government officials and employees who are simply doing their jobs are way over the line,
According to Ms. Jankowicz’s lawsuit, Fox’s coverage “resulted in immediate online harassment and threats, which continue even now,” citing a litany of misogynistic, antisemitic and violent messages and a doxxing campaign.
Among the lawyers representing Dominion in that case were Brian and Michael Farnan of the Wilmington, Delaware, firm Farnan LLP. And so Fox is probably not thrilled to see their names on a new defamation complaint filed in the Superior Court of the Delaware on behalf of former Department of Homeland Security official Nina Jankowicz.
I'm glad she's doing this, and by God, I hope she wins.
