Lawsuits open new front in misinformation fight in the US

The use of defamation suits has constrained right-wing pundits but also raises uneasy questions about how to police a news media that counts on First Amendment protections.

Fox Business cancelled Lou Dobbs Tonight after its eponymous host was sued as part of a US$2.7 billion (S$3.6 billion) defamation lawsuit. PHOTOS: AFP, REUTERS

(NYTIMES) In just a few weeks, lawsuits and legal threats from a pair of obscure election technology companies have achieved what years of advertising boycotts, public pressure campaigns and liberal outrage could not: curbing the flow of misinformation in right-wing media.

Fox Business cancelled its highest-rated show, Lou Dobbs Tonight, last Friday after its host was sued as part of a US$2.7 billion (S$3.6 billion) defamation lawsuit. Last Tuesday, the pro-Trump cable channel Newsmax cut off a guest's rant about rigged voting machines.

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