He predicted that BuzzFeed would suffer the same fate as did Gawker, and made the case that Gawker was put out of business after committing an offense less severe than that committed by BuzzFeed, in which NBC/Comcast invested around $400 million.
He (Lionel) also pointed out that the "editor in chief" of BuzzFeed, a man named Ben Smith, has repeatedly admitted his culpability in public statements made since they broke the "story," something that no journalist with any sense would ever do.
He repeatedly mentioned NY Times v. Sullivan, the court case which established the "actual malice" standard, as well as Nick Denton, the publisher of Gawker, who got nailed (figuratively) by Hulk Hogan.
Buzzfeed case will take CNN, Wilson, McMullin, McCain, etc down with it.
Can they use Gwker case as precedent?
Hope so.
“He (Lionel) also pointed out that the “editor in chief” of BuzzFeed, a man named Ben Smith, has repeatedly admitted his culpability in public statements made since they broke the “story,” something that no journalist with any sense would ever do.”
Yep, a big obstacle in libel cases is proving that the person knowingly published false information, but Smith already has stipulated that publicly.