The editor of the Wall Street Journal is sounding the alarm about a new trend with powerful people suing news outlets before anything is even published about them.
The Journal was recently sued by President Donald Trump after it reported that he'd contributed a comment and drawing to the infamous "birthday book" made for trafficker Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. Trump's lewd drawing of a nude woman outlined the text of a conversation between him and Epstein about the special "secrets" they share. Trump denied the drawing, and it was ultimately revealed publicly.
Last month, a federal judge dismissed Trump's $10 billion defamation suit against the Journal, its parent company and owner Rupert Murdoch.
The Guardian reported on Wednesday that these kinds of suits are becoming the norm as part of a public-relations strategy for powerful people ensnared in scandals.
“One of the biggest challenges to us now isn’t so much what happens afterwards,” said Emma Tucker while speaking to the Truth Tellers journalism summit. “It’s what happens before you even publish. That is a massive challenge for us."
“Increasingly, it is the case that before you even get to publication, lawsuits come raining down on you – a whole torrent of legal letters comes your way," she continued. "Deep-pocketed people [are] doing this as a PR strategy, because then other journalists then write up ‘look, so-and-so is suing the Wall Street Journal for some reporting that they’re doing.'"
The Trump lawsuit "epitomized how difficult and expensive these stories are. But at least the defamation came after we’d published. These days, increasingly, we’re getting legally challenged before we even get to publication."
Patrick Radden Keefe, was the investigative journalist who discovered the link between the wealthy Sackler family and the U.S. opioid crisis. While speaking at the summit, he explained that the problem with Trump's White House is that they are trying to make the objective truth more expensive for media companies. He also argued that the work can also be “good for business."
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, he said, was a good example of something that has become a "kind of parody" of journalism.
“Part of what we should acknowledge is that Trump has, in some respects, been very good for business, that these enterprises, which are in the business of getting clicks and selling subscriptions and so on and so forth, have found that the Trump administration makes great copy,” he said.
“On the one hand, you want to hold power to account, and on the other hand, this is the most entertaining show on earth. This is a reality TV presidency that has turned politics into entertainment by other means … I don’t know that there’s any news organization that has figured out how to thread that needle," Keefer added.
Kath Viner, the Guardian’s editor-in-chief, pointed to concerns over artificial intelligence, which is turning the world into a place in which "reality itself feels fake."
“That has big challenges for news organizations. But it also does have big opportunities because if we stay committed to the truth and not fall into the trap of AI slop, then I think we can differentiate ourselves and show our value," said Viner.