The Justice System Isn't Meeting the Moment

An update on my defamation suit against Fox News

The following was posted as an update to my supporters on GoFundMe and is being cross-posted on Substack.

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Friends,

I’m writing with bad news: my appeal of the lower court’s decision to grant Fox’s motion to dismiss was not successful. This marks the end of my defamation suit against Fox, but not the end of my fight for the truth.

We always knew this was an uphill battle. Public figures have a high bar to clear in defamation claims, and we were up against a powerful, moneyed defendant.

That said, I am more than disappointed with the Third Circuit’s decision; I am furious. Since I resigned my appointment at DHS 40 months ago, I have become well-acquainted with an American justice system that too often protects offenders instead of victims. It is a justice system that, in this crucial moment, doesn’t seem capable of reconciling decades-old precedent with the realities of violent political rhetoric in the digital age. As the nation reels from the highest profile political assassination in decades, following a year of other high profile acts of political violence, it’s hard not to interpret the Third Circuit’s decision as a shrug: to the suffering Fox’s coverage caused me, to the suffering the network’s lies have caused others, and to our suffering democracy, abdicating the role the courts might play in healing our poisoned political discourse.

What is even more chilling is what this decision means for all of us, not just for me. The court has effectively given permission for pundits to baselessly declare open season on people with whom they disagree, making it almost impossible for anyone to serve their country without the fear of being tarred and feathered by a powerful cable news channel with a rabidly devoted audience. No matter the consequences, no matter the proof, no matter the context, if a media network with a giant megaphone maligns you as you serve your country, inspiring their viewers to threaten your life and safety, inspiring others to stalk you and worse, you don't even have an opportunity to obtain discovery in pursuit of a remedy. That is what this panel of the Third Circuit has argued in this decision. Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Martian, that should be chilling to you, because it can happen to anyone.

Although Fox News manufactured and fanned the flames of a fake controversy that forced me to resign from my government appointment for my own safety, and although that fake controversy will forever affect my life, my career, and my family’s safety, the court effectively told me to take a hike.

Among other things, a Third Circuit panel concluded that Fox anchors who repeatedly lied about me when I served as Executive Director of the Disinformation Governance Board were not making false statements (even though we did plausibly prove they were false), concluded there is no difference between resigning for your own safety and being fired (even though there is), and decided that Fox’s screeds about the Disinformation Governance Board couldn't be referencing me, even when my name and photo were on the screen and Fox News viewers were reacting to the coverage in real time by threatening me online.

As a disinformation researcher, the part of the outcome that stands out most to me is the failure of the law to meet this moment in our information ecosystem. The rulings by both the Third Circuit and the lower court seemed to be built on assumptions that Fox’s audience would have interpreted its coverage as opinion, not fact.

The Congressman who frivolously subpoenaed me on the premise of Fox’s baseless censorship conspiracies didn’t take Fox’s statements to be merely “opinion”.

The men who frivolously named me in lawsuits over my purported censorship didn’t take Fox’s statements to be merely “predictions” about the possible future of the Board.

The prominent political influencers and Substack bloggers who continue to weave me into insane conspiracy theories weren’t assuming Fox’s lies about me were merely “substantially true.”

My stalkers and harassers didn’t treat Fox’s claims about me as “hyperbole.”

The law granted deference to Fox’s statements because the Disinformation Governance Board was “a hypercharged subject of political debate,” but ignored the fact that the only reason it was “hypercharged” was because Fox itself manufactured the crisis, telling viewers—on its first day of coverage!— that I’d “send men with guns” to their homes if they tweeted political opinions.

I’m sure Fox and MAGA hope that this will be the last straw for me, that I will stop working to shine a light on the lies that are corroding our democracy. On paper, this decision may be a win for their side, but they really only win when we leave the fight. I haven’t left yet—through death threats and networked lies and lawsuits—and I won’t leave now.

Since January, I have had the privilege of advising faithful public servants targeted by the Trump administration, helping them shore up their digital security, connect with lawyers, and take care of their mental health. I will continue that work.

Through my non-profit, the American Sunlight Project, I’ve held powerful liars to account, be they in Congress or in the Kremlin. We’ve also fought for women’s rights online, doing battle against the scourge of deepfake pornography. I will continue that work, too.

I will continue to speak up, to inform, to advocate, and to resist the assault on our rights and freedoms being perpetrated by the Trump Administration and its allies, even as doing so comes at great personal expense and consequence. That’s why I sued Fox in the first place. It wasn’t for money. It was for justice. It was an act of resistance. And whether through lawsuits, or social media posts, or protests large and small, we all need to keep reminding the powerful, over and over again, that there are millions of us who see through their lies. In short, I will continue my fight for a return to shared reality, without which our democracy cannot function.

This hasn’t been an easy three years for my family. I look forward to telling my son—the child who was threatened by strangers on the Internet while in utero—about the whole saga when he’s older. By then, I hope that he—and the rest of us—live in a more just world.

I want to thank my brilliant legal team—once strangers, now close friends—for their support, energy, and belief in me. I do not regret for a moment going on this journey with them, and I’m proud that we put up one hell of a fight.

Finally, I want to thank all of you. In the more than two years since I launched this fundraiser, you have not only supported my fight against Fox, but other costly legal battles I’ve been dragged into as a result of Fox’s lies. None of this would have been possible without your belief in me and your generous donations.

As I wrote in my last email to you, I continue to face legal challenges, so I will be renaming my GoFundMe page to “Nina Jankowicz Legal Fund” and keeping it open. This also allows me to continue to communicate with you. As before, any funds raised in excess of protecting me and my family will be used to support other American public servants and dissidents who find themselves in situations similar to mine.

I know this isn’t the outcome any of us wanted. But I’m more motivated than ever to continue my work, and am grateful to have you on my side.

Thank you again. Let’s keep fighting together.
Nina