Fox News won a court case by 'persuasively' arguing that no 'reasonable viewer' takes Tucker Carlson seriously

Sonam Sheth Sep 24, 2020, 11:42 PM

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against Fox News after lawyers for the network argued that no "reasonable viewer" would take the network's primetime star Tucker Carlson seriously.

The former Playboy model Karen McDougal filed a defamation suit against Fox alleging that Carlson slandered her during a December 2018 episode of his show, "Tucker Carlson Tonight."

The network asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing that "Carlson's statements were not statements of fact and that she failed adequately to allege actual malice."

The judge agreed with Fox's premise, adding that the network "persuasively argues" that "given Mr. Carlson's reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statements he makes."

Carlson has long made racist and controversial statements as a primetime host on Fox News and has lost several advertisers because of it.

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A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against Fox News after lawyers for the network argued that no "reasonable viewer" takes the primetime host Tucker Carlson seriously, a new court filing said.

The case was brought by the former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said Carlson defamed her on his show, "Tucker Carlson Tonight," by saying she extorted President Donald Trump "out of approximately $150,000 in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair," the filing said.

Fox News asked the judge to toss out McDougal's case by arguing that "Carlson's statements were not statements of fact and that she failed adequately to allege actual malice."

McDougal said two of Carlson's statements during the episode on December 10, 2018, were defamatory:

Carlson's claim that McDougal "approached Donald Trump and threatened to ruin his career and humiliate his family if he doesn't give them money."

Carlson's claim that McDougal's actions amounted to "a classic case of extortion."

But Fox News argued that Carlson "cannot be understood to have been stating facts, but instead that he was delivering an opinion using hyperbole for effect," the ruling said.

It added that Fox News "submits that the use of that word or an accusation of extortion, absent more, is simply 'loose, figurative, or hyperbolic language' that does not give rise to a defamation claim."

US District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil agreed with Fox's premise, adding that the network "persuasively argues" that "given Mr. Carlson's reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statements he makes."

"This 'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that he is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary,'" the ruling said.

McDougal made headlines in 2018 when it surfaced that Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer, had arranged for American Media Inc., the owner of the tabloid the National Enquirer, to pay her $150,000 for her story that she had an affair with Trump in 2006. AMI purchased but never published McDougal's story to shield Trump in the weeks before the 2016 election, a practice known as "catch and kill."

Carlson has made several racist and controversial statements during his tenure as one of Fox News' primetime stars.

Last year, after a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, in which the suspect wrote a manifesto about a "Hispanic invasion of Texas," Carlson argued that white supremacy was a "hoax" and "not a real problem."

In December 2018, Carlson claimed that immigrants would make the US "poorer and dirtier." Nearly three dozen advertisers then cut ties with Carlson's show.

Three months later, the host again found himself in hot water when tapes surfaced featuring him describing women as "primitive" and saying they "just need to be quiet," comparing them to dogs, and defending the convicted pedophile Warren Jeffs. Carlson refused to apologize and invited those who disagreed with him to appear on his show.

In June, as protests erupted across the US following the police killing of George Floyd, the host said the demonstrations were "definitely not about Black lives" and told viewers to "remember that when they come for you."

Carlson saw another exodus of advertisers following his remarks about the protests.

"Karen McDougal's lawsuit attempted to silence spirited opinion commentary on matters of public concern," Fox News Media said in a statement after Thursday's ruling. "The court today held that the First Amendment plainly prohibits such efforts to stifle free speech. The decision is a victory not just for FOX News Media, but for all defenders of the First Amendment."

Article 2:

Sandy Hook father to receive $450,000 from conspiracy theorist, jury says

The retired professor's book claimed that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.

Oct. 17, 2019, 11:25 AM EDT

By Elizabeth Chuck

A Wisconsin jury on Tuesday ordered a conspiracy theorist who claimed the grieving father of a victim of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre had fabricated his son's death certificate to pay the father $450,000.

A judge had ruled in June that James Fetzer, co-author of the book "Nobody Died at Sandy Hook," had defamed Leonard Pozner, father of Noah, 6, the youngest victim of the December 2012 mass shooting, by falsely claiming that Pozner had fabricated copies of his son's death certificate.

The claim was made by the retired professor in his book, which argued that the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting which killed 26 people never happened and was instead a hoax staged by the federal government in an effort to pass stricter gun laws.

Lenny Pozner with his son Noah, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at age 6.

Lenny Pozner with his son Noah, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at age 6.Lenny Pozner/Facebook

A Dane County jury deliberated for nearly four hours before slapping Fetzer with the $450,000 fine, reported the Wisconsin State Journal. Fetzer called the amount "absurd" and vowed to appeal, the newspaper reported.

In a statement published by the Wisconsin State Journal, Pozner thanked the jury "for recognizing the pain and terror that Mr. Fetzer has purposefully inflicted on me and on other victims of these horrific mass casualty events."

"Mr. Fetzer has the right to believe that Sandy Hook never happened," Pozner said. "He has the right to express his ignorance. This award, however, further illustrates the difference between the right of people like Mr. Fetzer to be wrong and the right of victims like myself and my child to be free from defamation, free from harassment and free from the intentional infliction of terror."

"Nobody Died at Sandy Hook" was pulled from bookshelves in June and the publisher, Moon Rock Books, has apologized to the Pozner family.

The book's co-author, Mike Palacek, reached an undisclosed settlement with Pozner last month.

Pozner has devoted years to quelling hoaxers who have harassed him and has said he has received death threats over their claims that he is a crisis actor and that his son was never real.

To push back against deniers, he has released Noah's birth certificate, medical records and report cards to the public and has had DNA samples taken to prove Noah is his son.

He and the families of seven other Sandy Hook victims are also pursuing legal action against Infowars owner Alex Jones, who has disseminated similar false claims about the shooting, which left 20 first-graders and six staff members dead.

Read the two articles ( Tucker Carlson & Sandy Hook) on defamation. Do you agree with each decision? Explain your position for each decision.