Donald Trump files US$475m defamation lawsuit against CNN

The feud between Donald Trump and CNN has been on going. This time, Trump is suing CNN for defamation and demands US$475 million in damages, according to a lawsuit seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. Trump argued that CNN has unjustly attacked him in the recent years and accused the media company of smearing his image due to its fear of the former US president running for the 2024 presidency. 

“CNN’s campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander against the plaintiff has only escalated in recent months as CNN fears the plaintiff will run for president in 2024. As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the left, CNN has tried to taint the plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist’, ‘Russian lackey’, ‘insurrectionist’, and ultimately ‘Hitler’,” said the report.

CNN declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Over the period of his business and political career, Trump has routinely threatened to sue media outlets and his attacks on the media became a major part of his political message. 

In January 2017, CNN's credibility was questioned by the president and where it had to issue a statement on the company’s website defending "fake news" allegations by Trump. The company stated that it was "fully confident in their reporting” and went ahead to challenge Trump's claim.

In 2020, Trump also sued The New York Times and Washington Post over opinion articles that linked Trump to Russian interference in American elections. His lawsuit against the former news outlet was dropped while the lawsuit against the latter is still pending. He did not only target media outlets, he also sued CEOs of social media platforms such as Facebook, Google and Twitter just last year.

In recent years, CNN’s parent company Warner Bros Discovery has also cut 30% of its global ad sales team, impacting almost 1,000 jobs. According to a report on Reuters, the company was offering its US ad sales team an opportunity to voluntarily leave the company.

The move came shortly after Warner Media’s completed merger with Discovery. Warner Bros Discovery is currently run by CEO David Zaslav and according to media reports; Zaslav is looking to find “cost synergies” of at least US$3 billion in 2023.

Related articles: 

US regulatory authorities investigate Trump's social media firm merger deal
Twitter and Facebook lock Trump's accounts following riots in US capital
Trump signs order targetting social media companies for policing content
Trump threatens to 'strongly regulate' social platforms after Twitter fact checks his tweet
CNN boss curbs use of 'Breaking News': A progressive move to counter clickbait?