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Civil Litigation,
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Aug. 18, 2021

‘Literally’ doesn’t always mean ‘literally,’ 9th Circuit panel says

“We conclude that the challenged statement was an obvious exaggeration, cushioned within an undisputed news story,” 9th Circuit Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. wrote for the panel.

‘Literally’ doesn’t always mean ‘literally,’ 9th Circuit panel says
Rachel Maddow during a taping of her show in New York, March 9, 2017. (New York Times News Service)

The owner of One America News Network Inc. lost a defamation lawsuit Tuesday against MSNBC and its most prominent on-air personality, Rachel Maddow.

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed a district court judge's dismissal of the case, which revolved around Maddow's description of a Daily Beast story concerning an OAN reporter who also wrote stories for a Russia-sponsored news outlet.

"We conclude t...

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Herring Networks v. Maddow

Exaggerated statement, cushioned within undisputed news story could not reasonably be understood to imply assertion of objective fact in order to amount to defamation.

Milan Smith Jr.

Milan D. Smith Jr.
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Los Angeles)

Cynthia Bashant

Cynthia A. Bashant
U.S. District Court Southern District (San Diego)


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