Appeals Court Dismisses 'Mary Poppins of Disinformation' Lawsuit Against Fox Newshttps://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2025/09/19/mary-poppins-of-disinformation-has-lawsuit-against-fox-news-dismissed-n4943888Nina Jankowicz, the former chair of Joe Biden's Disinformation Governance Board, was upset at Fox News when the outlet ran stories accusing her of doing her job: trying to stifle speech in opposition to her boss, the president.
Jankowicz sued Fox in federal court on the unprecedented grounds that Fox's critical reporting made her feel "unsafe."
"Jankowicz alleged that Fox News's defamatory coverage forced her to resign in 2022 from the Disinformation Governance Board, the short-lived agency she briefly helmed at the Department of Homeland Security, and caused unspecified harm to her well-being that could only be fixed with a massive financial settlement," reported the Washington Free Beacon.
A lower court unceremoniously tossed the suit, and the appeals court was, if anything, quicker in giving her lawsuit the heave-ho. They didn't buy her argument that Fox defamed her by showing her picture when criticizing the disinformation board.
In non-lawyer-speak, such a case requires proving two basic elements:
* Significantly false information published/broadcastA misspelling, an imprecise date or title, a differing opinion, an indirect association are not defamation.
* Actual damageProvable economic, reputation, and future career path damage, not vague "I feel".
The court ruled that her case failed to show actual defamation; it would also fail the provable damage standard. She tried to play victim in a lawfare lawsuit and failed. And, unsurprisingly, she is still tantrumming. She should be required to pay Fox's legal costs, IMO, to discourage frivolous lawfare suits, but I don't know if she is.
