Federal court dismisses 'misinformation czar' Nina Jankowicz's defamation suit against Fox—says Disinfo Board was 'formed precisely to police information'

Nina Jankowicz's defamation lawsuit against Fox News has been dismissed by a federal judge. Jankowicz briefly headed the widely criticized and short-lived Disinformation Governance Board but resigned from her post and the board was paused less than a month after its formation in 2022.  

After suing the outlet for defamation, a Delaware judge on Monday dismissed the case, according to The Hill. She had claimed that the outlet falsely said she “intended to censor Americans’ speech” and that she “wanted to give verified Twitter users, including herself, the power to edit others’ tweets." She also alleged in the complaint that she had resigned "as a result of Fox's false statements and ensuing harassment." The board had "paused" the same day that Jankowicz resigned from her position.  



In the opinion, highlighted by Reason, Chief Judge Colm Connolly dismissed the three arguments Jankowicz said were false statements made against Fox: that she was trying to censor the speech of Americans, that she was fired from the Biden administration, and that she wanted verified then-Twitter users to be able to edit others' posts. 

Connolly dismissed the complaint from Jankowicz against Fox News, who argued that her complaint was centered around 37 statements that "are not even about" her, but instead speaking broadly about the board and the administration. 36 of those statements were found to not have been about Jankowicz. The remaining statement related to one instance in which Sean Hannity had said "that "the Board was a 'department … dedicated to working with the special media giants for the purpose of policing information,'" and there was an image of Jankowicz on the screen. She argued that this could lead Americans to believe the host was talking about her. Connolly wrote that "the statement is not defamatory because it is not false." 

He added in the ruling that "the Board was formed precisely to police information and to work with non­governmental actors."

In the case of being "fired," Fox's characterization of hosts' statements such as "Jankowicz was so absurd that she had to go away," that she "was fired from DHS," and that she "got booted" was that these were opinion statements and "inherently imprecise." Connolly wrote in the opinion, "Jankowicz does not dispute this contention in her briefing. Accordingly, I will dismiss her defamation claim insofar as it is based on these three alleged statements." 

For the allegations saying Fox defamed her by saying she wanted to have verified users edit then-Twitter posts, Connolly wrote, "the Complaint itself quotes Jankowicz confirming in a Zoom session that she endorsed the notion of having 'verified' individuals edit the content of others' tweets. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that Jankowicz stated 'during a Zoom meeting' that she 'like[d] the idea' of 'verified people' 'edit[ing]' Twitter and that she 'like[d] the idea of adding more context to claims and tweets and other content online, rather than removing it.'" 

In a statement, Fox said of the case, “This was a politically motivated lawsuit aimed at silencing free speech, and we are pleased with the court’s decision to protect the First Amendment." 

After she had been assigned as the head of the board, public outcry led her to leave the role in the Disinformation Board. She then went viral for singing a parody of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" on disinformation. She had also sought out funds in order to sue Fox. Many conservatives took to social media to protest the board, calling it Orwellian when it was formed.  

Despite the case being dismissed, a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for Jankowicz's legal fees is still live, with over $80,000 being raised of the $100,000 goal since it was launched on March 2, 2023. In an update posted on Monday, Jankowicz wrote, "Unfortunately I am not writing with good news. Today, the District Court in our case granted Fox’s Motion to Dismiss. My team and I disagree with the Court's decision and will be appealing to the Third Circuit. This fight is not over. I truly appreciate your continued support and will update you when there is more information to share."