Expose CNN: Project Veritas’ James O'Keefe sues Twitter for defamation after ban for allegedly using fake accounts
Right-wing provocateur James O'Keefe has beef with Twitter. On Monday, April 19, 2021, the founder of Project Veritas sued Twitter Inc. for defamation for banning him from the social networking site. O'Keefe's project was recently under fire for undercover sting operations against media organizations and liberal groups.
In a state court in Westchester County, New York, O'Keefe sued Twitter claiming that the social media company falsely banned him for operating fake accounts. O'Keefe claimed Twitter subjected him to "hatred, contempt, and ridicule" and claimed the allegedly false statements "tend to diminish the esteem, respect, goodwill, or confidence in which Mr O'Keefe is held."
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Why is O'Keefe suing Twitter?
"This is a defamation action arising from the publication of a false and defamatory statement by Twitter on April 15, 2021, concerning its decision that day to ban Plaintiff James O’Keefe, an investigative journalist followed by over 926,000 Twitter users as of the time he was banned," the lawsuit reads according to the latest reports. "Twitter’s false and defamatory claim was that it removed Mr O’Keefe because he 'operated fake accounts' ... Twitter’s published claim that Mr O’Keefe 'operat[ed] fake accounts' is patently and demonstrably false."
What is the lawsuit about?
For a while now, Project Veritas has been criticized for allegedly making deceptively edited secret recordings trying to discredit groups and companies. These companies include Planned Parenthood, CNN and the Washington Post.
The filing also said that Twitter made statements to journalists about O'Keefe's suspension "more than half an hour before communicating this information to Mr O’Keefe."
O'Keefe's lawsuit accuses Twitter of knowing that its claim that he operated "fake accounts" was "false and/or recklessly disregard the truth."
"Twitter controls and operates its own platform and necessarily has the means and ability to confirm if an individual is operating multiple accounts under aliases and to authenticate the identities of those who open accounts, and as set forth in the publications quoted Twitter does so on a regular basis," the suit reportedly explained. "Given the extent of such monitoring and the prominence of Mr O’Keefe’s account, the odds would appear infinitesimal that Twitter could have concluded, albeit erroneously and negligently, that Mr O’Keefe was operating fake accounts and formulated and disseminated a statement explaining its supposed reason for banning Mr O’Keefe on the very same day, and within hours, of his use of that account to publicize embarrassing disclosures concerning CNN."
"In fact, Twitter necessarily knew that its claim that Mr O’Keefe operated fake accounts was false, or had information before it which would cause a reasonable person to harbor doubts as to truthfulness of the allegation that Mr O’Keefe maintained fake accounts, when it made these claims on April 15, 2021."
The filing adds, "Accusing Mr O’Keefe of misleading his readership by using fake or fraudulent Twitter accounts is extremely damaging to his reputation and imputes general disqualification to do his job as an investigative journalist by lowering the credibility of his reporting and general reputation for veracity. All the damage suffered by Mr O’Keefe was completely foreseeable on Twitter’s part, and, upon information and belief, was intended by them or came about as a result of their malicious, reckless, and negligent conduct."
How is CNN in the picture?
The lawsuit outlines Project Veritas' #ExposeCNN campaign, which was all over Twitter last week. What got it trending was that Project Veritas published videos of a CNN staffer making claims about the network's alleged bias and political motivations to an undercover journalist. According to the reports, the filing noted that the videos were "trending #2 on Twitter in the United States."
According to a Fox report, the CNN staffer was technical director Charles Chester who claimed - apparently on record - that CNN's "focus" during the 2020 election campaign was to "get rid of" then-President Donald Trump. In addition to that, the published videos also claimed that the network amped up its coronavirus coverage for "gangbuster" ratings, and that it aimed to "help" Black Lives Matter.