Nick Sandmann loses his defamation lawsuits vs media companies

[Badger]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

That's not defamation nor does it entitle him to millions of dollars. Defamation under the law is ruining someone's character to the point of serious hardship.

This. Plus that's not at all specific GM about what lies the media supposedly said about him

[Badger]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

That's not defamation nor does it entitle him to millions of dollars. Defamation under the law is ruining someone's character to the point of serious hardship.

CNN & WaPO settled with him, so they disagree, Doc.

Which as I pointed out, grumps, this was always bewildering, and this dismissal of his other claims tends to prove that.

[Badger]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

That's not defamation nor does it entitle him to millions of dollars. Defamation under the law is ruining someone's character to the point of serious hardship.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

Essentially? Need proof

[Badger]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

He still got a settlement from CNN and the Washington Post in the millions, so no his life wasn't "destroyed." He's actually much better off now than if it had never happened.

I can't speak for him, but I'd much rather go without a million dollar check from CNN and not get smeared as a racist and doxxed in front of the entire country at age 15 or 16.

I'd take the millions in a heartbeat. He'll never have to work again and everyone will have forgotten him in a few years anyway.

This. plus he's now the poster boy of conservative grievance against the media. He can pay his own way for internships anywhere he wants in that area if he chooses.

[Badger]

I'm not making any judgment call on the legal specifics.  But what the media did to this kid was extremely and knowingly dishonest, and he suffered for it.  That's wrong, and he deserves justice.

Justice for what? Strangers thinking he's a jerk? It isn't like he was falsely accused of a crime.

CNN & WaPO settled with him, so they disagree, Doc.

Just because they settled doesn't make it defamation under the law. Sometimes entities settle just to make people go away.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

But you actually need proof of these things to win a defamation suit. There's not evidence he was denied college admission or jobs based on any of this. Very few defamation cases succeed specifically for lack of evidence of hardship.

In my line of work I know this all too well, but Doc, c'mon, the reports are they settled for millions.  They weren't like 'hey kid here's some ice cream money, go away'.  These giants could have easily weathered a trial if they had a decent leg to stand on.

Which this judicial ruling tends to indicate he didn't. And to CNN and the Washington post, Millions is ice cream money

[GeorgiaModerate]

A secondary effect of this is that Kyle Rittenhouse might now reconsider launching similar defamation lawsuits.

[John Dule]

Also, didn't Sandmann's actions afterwards just kinda prove the whole "brat" persona? He seems to have really solidified himself as a lot of what people thought of him.

Hang on, lemme quick publish eleven quintillion news articles about how your facial expression is racist and then call you a "brat" for trying to fight back.

[Santander]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

The bar for defamation is justifiably high. The multiple settlements and the fact that he dragged the facts of the case into the light are probably enough for him.

Deleting the BHI agitators from the narrative was incredibly blatant and was the source of most of the aggression against him.

[DaleCooper]

Also, didn't Sandmann's actions afterwards just kinda prove the whole "brat" persona? He seems to have really solidified himself as a lot of what people thought of him.

Hang on, lemme quick publish eleven quintillion news articles about how your facial expression is racist and then call you a "brat" for trying to fight back.

The left doesn't believe in self-defense of any kind.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I'm not making any judgment call on the legal specifics.  But what the media did to this kid was extremely and knowingly dishonest, and he suffered for it.  That's wrong, and he deserves justice.

Justice for what? Strangers thinking he's a jerk? It isn't like he was falsely accused of a crime.

CNN & WaPO settled with him, so they disagree, Doc.

Just because they settled doesn't make it defamation under the law. Sometimes entities settle just to make people go away.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

But you actually need proof of these things to win a defamation suit. There's not evidence he was denied college admission or jobs based on any of this. Very few defamation cases succeed specifically for lack of evidence of hardship.

In my line of work I know this all too well, but Doc, c'mon, the reports are they settled for millions.  They weren't like 'hey kid here's some ice cream money, go away'.  These giants could have easily weathered a trial if they had a decent leg to stand on.

Which this judicial ruling tends to indicate he didn't. And to CNN and the Washington post, Millions is ice cream money

The kid is set for life and I'm happy for him.

[Ferguson97]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

[OSR stands with Israel]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

This is beyond parody at this point

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

The incident that made him notable and prominent was not just being accused of wearing a MAGA hat and something that was EXTREMELY blown out of context and proportion. I'm sure he's a terrible person of course but not for the incident that's the only reason why we even know who he is now.

[Ferguson97]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

This is beyond parody at this point

Have you ever known a white person wearing a MAGA hat who wasn't a racist?

[OSR stands with Israel]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

This is beyond parody at this point

Have you ever known a white person wearing a MAGA hat who wasn't a racist?

Actually yes

[DaleCooper]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

This is beyond parody at this point

Have you ever known a white person wearing a MAGA hat who wasn't a racist?

Anyone who has interacted with a diverse range of Americans has, yes.

[GeorgiaModerate]

From my own experience, not everyone who wears a MAGA hat is a racist.  But I think it's fair to say that they're "racism tolerant", i.e. they have no problem associating with a movement that includes many racists.

[OSR stands with Israel]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

This is beyond parody at this point

Have you ever known a white person wearing a MAGA hat who wasn't a racist?

Anyone who has interacted with a diverse range of Americans has, yes.

There are many racists who don't wear MAGA hats, but every white person who wore a MAGA hat is racist.

You really are beyond parody

[Ferguson97]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

This is beyond parody at this point

Have you ever known a white person wearing a MAGA hat who wasn't a racist?

Anyone who has interacted with a diverse range of Americans has, yes.

There are many racists who don't wear MAGA hats, but every white person who wore a MAGA hat is racist.

You really are beyond parody

Explain how it's wrong.

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

That's not defamation nor does it entitle him to millions of dollars. Defamation under the law is ruining someone's character to the point of serious hardship.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

This country elected Donald Trump president

[OSR stands with Israel]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

This is beyond parody at this point

Have you ever known a white person wearing a MAGA hat who wasn't a racist?

Anyone who has interacted with a diverse range of Americans has, yes.

There are many racists who don't wear MAGA hats, but every white person who wore a MAGA hat is racist.

You really are beyond parody

Explain how it's wrong.

Supporting a candidate doesn’t mean your racist . Also since you asked me to give you an example , a tutor at my university used to wear his MAGA hat when he walked around campus and he was certainly not racist .

[Badger]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

This is beyond parody at this point

Have you ever known a white person wearing a MAGA hat who wasn't a racist?

Anyone who has interacted with a diverse range of Americans has, yes.

From my own experience, not everyone who wears a MAGA hat is a racist.  But I think it's fair to say that they're "racism tolerant", i.e. they have no problem associating with a movement that includes many racists.

Both of these are correct.

[wesmoorenerd]

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

yeah it's very weird that people are pretending he was falsely accused of racism when he was literally wearing a MAGA hat lmao

You cannot unironically wear a MAGA hat and feign innocence.

This is beyond parody at this point

Have you ever known a white person wearing a MAGA hat who wasn't a racist?

Anyone who has interacted with a diverse range of Americans has, yes.

There are many racists who don't wear MAGA hats, but every white person who wore a MAGA hat is racist.

You really are beyond parody

Explain how it's wrong.

Supporting a candidate doesn’t mean your racist . Also since you asked me to give you an example , a tutor at my university used to wear his MAGA hat when he walked around campus and he was certainly not racist .

David Duke '91 voters: not racist?

[ibagli]

This is obviously the correct decision.

But the thing that gets me in retrospect is...why was it news at all? Like, even if the worst assumptions had been correct, who cares?