CNN hosts use ‘Big Lie’ phrase repeatedly despite new CEO’s desires
New CNN boss Chris Licht said the phrase sounded akin to a bumper sticker or hashtag, and was not precise for cable news.
Former President Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN and teased that more legal battles against other media outlets will follow.
"CNN has sought to use its massive influence— purportedly as a ‘trusted’ news source—to defame the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically, culminating in CNN claiming credit for ‘[getting] Trump out’ in the 2020 presidential election," the lawsuit filed Monday alleged. "CNN’s campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander against the Plaintiff has only escalated in recent months as CNN fears the Plaintiff will run for president in 2024. As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left, CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of 'racist,' ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler.’"
"These labels are neither hyperbolic nor opinion: these are repeatedly reported as true fact, with purported factual support, by allegedly 'reputable' newscasters, acting not merely with reckless disregard for the truth of their statements… but acting with real animosity for the Plaintiff and seeking to cause him true harm," the suit continued.
Trump is demanding $475 million from CNN in damages, according to the filing.
CNN STARS CONTINUE USING ‘BIG LIE’ TERM ABOUT TRUMP, FLOUTING NEW BOSS WHO PREFERS DIFFERENT PHRASE
Former President Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN over its hostile coverage of him, specifically over the networks use of the phrase "The Big Lie" to describe his claims about the 2020 presidential election. (Getty Images)
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, cites CNN's repeated use of the phrase "The Big Lie" to label Trump's claims about the 2020 presidential election and numerous comparisons to Adolf Hitler in recent years.
"The ‘Big Lie’ is a direct reference to a tactic employed by Adolf Hitler and appearing in Hitler’s Mein Kampf. As commonly understood: ‘If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.’ The ‘Big Lie’ was used by Hitler to incite hatred of the Jews and to convince people to ostracize Jewish people. It was an entire propaganda campaign to justify Jewish persecution and genocide. The phrase is not taken lightly and is not bandied about blithely. CNN anchors and commentators understand this. They have not used it against other political leaders and previously criticized political analogies to Nazi Germany and to Hitler," the lawsuit claims.
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The suit continues, "CNN has adopted the ‘Big Lie’ as its turn of phrase to describe the Plaintiff and the Plaintiff’s concerns over election integrity. The repeated use of the "Big Lie" in relation to the Plaintiff is not innocently rendered, but rather a deliberate effort by CNN to propagate to its audience an association between the Plaintiff and one of the most repugnant figures in modern history."
Former President Trump stressed the importance of restoring law and order in America in his first speech in Washington D.C. since leaving office. (Getty Images)
In a letter sent through his Save America PAC, Trump hinted that CNN is the first of several lawsuits he will file against other media giants.
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"In the coming weeks and months we will also be filing lawsuits against a large number of other Fake News Media Companies for their lies, defamation, and wrongdoing, including as it pertains to ‘The Big Lie,’ that they used so often in reference to their disinformation attack on Presidential Election of 2020," Trump wrote in the letter.
A spokesman for CNN declined to comment.