"Hearsay can be sued. Looks like the media’s “unnamed sources” are no longer going to be treated like oracles. The nation’s propagandists might actually have to confirm their stories. Democrats might be reduced to getting all their news from undocumented blog trolls" . . .Comment to the column below.
"We have previously discussed the defamation case involving Georgia gynecologist Dr. Mahendra Amin who was allegedly defamed by MSNBC, including by host Rachel Maddow, as the “uterus collector.” Now, not long after a settlement of CNN of another defamation case, MSNBC appears to have forked over damages to Dr. Amin to avoid a trial.
"The case was not going well for NBC before it threw in the towel to avoid the April trial. That trial would have been embarrassing for hosts Maddow, Hayes, and Wallace as well as NBC News reporters Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley, MSNBC producer Denis Horgan, senior director of stands and practices Mary Lockhart, deputy head of standards Chris Scholl and others.
"The complaint alleged that NBC reporters Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley developed the story on the whistleblower’s claims despite initial skepticism from the network’s standards department.
"MSNBC quickly followed with a series of on-air reports in which the doctor was often referred to as the “uterus collector.” The story was based on allegations by “a former nurse at the facility named Dawn Wooten.” Wooten is quoted extensively in the opinion:
We’ve questioned among ourselves like goodness he’s taking everybody’s stuff out …. That’s his specialty, he’s the uterus collector. I know that’s ugly … is he collecting these things or something[?] … Everybody he sees, he’s taking all their uteruses out or he’s taken their tubes out.
"Despite misgivings about Wooten’s credibility, MSNBC continued with stories that portrayed Dr. Amin as a virtual Dr. Mengele. Critics charged that the story was irresistible for the channel because it combined reproductive health, immigration, and social equity issues. Whatever the reason, hosts and executives set aside their doubts and ran stories that made Dr. Amin an infamous figure throughout the country.
"Judge Lisa Godbey Wood (S.D. Ga.) found that the stories were false in claiming that Dr. Amin performed “hysterectomies that were unnecessary, unauthorized, or even botched.” She also found that MSNBC may have published the reports knowing that the allegations were false or with reckless disregard for the truth." . . .
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