NewsGuard wins free speech ruling in battle with Roger Waters-backed publisher

Consortium News argued NewsGuard had defamed it and infringed its First Amendment rights.

Roger Waters performing on stage in costume of black with a Nazi armband, in a show aimed at highlighting dangers of fascism — Roger Waters performing in Rio in 2006. His costume is part of a show aimed at highlighting dangers of fascism. Picture: Shutterstock

A US court has dismissed a lawsuit brought against journalism credibility rating organisation NewsGuard, ruling that the company’s reviews are protected expressions of opinion.

Consortium News, which bills itself as “the first investigative news magazine based on the internet”, alleged that it had been defamed by a NewsGuard review which declared it was “anti-US” and “publishes false information”.

The publication also argued that, because of contract work NewsGuard had done tracking online misinformation for the US government, its First Amendment rights had been violated.

Bron Maher

@bron_maher

Bron Maher is Press Gazette's senior reporter, covering US and UK media. He joined Press Gazette in November 2021 from Newsguard, a US start-up that reviews how far news sites adhere to journalistic standards.