A quote, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it,” is often attributed to Goebbels, though it’s unclear where the comment came from. Trump argued that the network’s references to the “big lie” created a “false and incendiary association” between him and Hitler, and caused “readers and viewers to hate, contempt, distrust, ridicule, and even fear” him. In the CNN case, Trump’s lawsuit pointed to five examples of times the network’s coverage referenced the “big lie,” which Trump’s attorneys said CNN refused to retract. Advertisement“CNN’s use of the phrase ‘the Big Lie’ in connection with Trump’s election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people,” the judge wrote. First, the complained of statements are opinion, not factually false statements, and therefore are not actionable,” he wrote of the lawsuit against CNN.

Source: CNN July 29, 2023 23:04 UTC