James O’Keefe of Project Veritas has announced that he is suing Twitter for defamation of character after they banned his account over videos catching a CNN employee admitting to using fake news in order to cost President Trump reelection. O’Keefe points out that in a case such as this Section 230 does not protect Twitter and the fact that videos are only fake news if it is edited except when CBS and NBC do it.
Since Project Veritas did not break any of the guidelines for the site including operating a fake account, they had to have done it for political considerations. That is not protected by Section 230.
At the time O’Keefe announced he would be suing Twitter and on Monday, he filed the paperwork. Twitter has been even more aggressive in banning conservative speech since the 2020 election because they are confident they can get away with it.
James posted the announcement on Telegram:
On Monday James O’Keefe made good on his promise and filed his lawsuit against Twitter:
[WESTCHESTER, NY – Apr. 19, 2021] Project Veritas founder and CEO James O’Keefe sued Twitter in The Supreme Court of New York today, over “false and defamatory” statements made by the Big Tech giant.
From https://assets.ctfassets.net/
READ THE ENTIRE COMPLAINT FILED TODAY HERE.
SUMMARY OF THE ACTION
1. This defamation action arises from Twitter’s false and defamatory April 15, 2021,
statement concerning Twitter’s decision to ban Plaintiff James O’Keefe, an investigative
journalist followed by over 926,000 Twitter users as of the time he was banned.
2. Twitter’s false and defamatory claim was that it removed Mr. O’Keefe because he
“operated fake accounts,” as reported by journalists exemplified in Figure 1 below.
3. Mr. O’Keefe is a journalist whose reputation depends on his ethical and transparent
conduct and his production of reliable and accurate news reporting.
4. Twitter’s published claim that Mr. O’Keefe “operat[ed] fake accounts” is patently
and demonstrably false.
5. Moreover, as detailed below, as the owner and operator of its own platform,
Twitter was in a unique position to know that this claim was false.
6. Alternatively, given the extent of its knowledge and information, Twitter acted
with reckless disregard for the falsity of this claim when it published it.
7. Twitter’s false claim that Mr. O’Keefe used “fake accounts” on Twitter has caused
Mr. O’Keefe damage and, unless retracted, will continue to cause him damage, as set forth in
detail below.
The lawsuit was set in motion after O’Keefe’s personal account — with nearly one million followers — received a permanent ban from Twitter, for operating “fake accounts.”
The ban was issued almost immediately following Veritas’ release of Bombshell undercover CNN videos, where Technical Director Charlie Chester calls the network “propaganda” and admits to using “fear” as a way to drive viewership.
Twitter’s accusation of operating fake accounts was immediately challenged by O’Keefe, who maintains he has never done so.
