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Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified in former President Trump’s first impeachment trial, said Monday he “should have sued those who amplified his smear campaign.”
Driving the news: In an op-ed for Lawfare, titled “Can Litigation Help De-radicalize Right-Wing Media?” Vindman wrote: “After testifying about President Trump’s misconduct on Ukraine ahead of the impeachment inquiry of the House, Trump and his family allies for retribution. “
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He said that “Trump’s proxies have amplified these themes in the news, internet news and social media, which has put my life and reputation as a public servant at risk, and that he” did did not respond forcefully to threats and defamation “.
To note: Some supporters of the First Amendment fear that libel lawsuits could be used to silence the press. And Vindman notes in his editorial that the First Amendment “severely limits the tools available to hold the right-wing media to account.”
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“Nonetheless, there are ways to dismantle the ecosystem of right-wing disinformation, an ecosystem that doesn’t start with an insurgency but with more mundane lies,” he added.
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“Like the many political elites who push the insurgency to advance their political goals, the right-wing media are also motivated by an outcome calculation: viewers, market share, and advertising dollars.”
Our thought bubble, via Sara Fischer of Axios: Defamation lawsuits and threats against Fox and other conservative figures and networks have so far proven effective enough in crushing election fraud hoaxes.
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