Federal Judge Ruled MSNBC Viewers Know Rachel Maddow Offers Exaggeration and Opinion Not Facts
MSNBC’s top star Rachel Maddow got some good news when a recent court ruling went her way, but in doing so, the court gave up Rachel’s game. The court ruled in favor of Maddow in a defamation case from OANN but gave a stunning reason for doing so, namely that Maddows’s viewers know she offers exaggeration and opinion, not facts.
The court wrote: “On one hand, a viewer who watches news channels tunes in for facts and the goings-on of the world. MSNBC indeed produces news, but this point must be juxtaposed with the fact that Maddow made the allegedly defamatory statement on her own talk show news segment where she is invited and encouraged to share her opinions with her viewers. Maddow does not keep her political views a secret, and therefore, audiences could expect her to use subjective language that comports with her political opinions.
“Thus, Maddow’s show is different than a typical news segment where anchors inform viewers about the daily news. The point of Maddow’s show is for her to provide the news but also to offer her opinions as to that news. Therefore, the Court finds that the medium of the alleged defamatory statement makes it more likely that a reasonable viewer would not conclude that the contested statement implies an assertion of objective fact.
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