Media

Alternet -  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."