A federal judge in Florida ruled in favor of BuzzFeed in a defamation lawsuit filed by a Russian technology entrepreneur who protested the news outlet’s publication of the Trump-Russia dossier.
U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro, based in Miami, ruled Wednesday that BuzzFeed was protected by the fair report privilege, even though Russian executive Aleksej Gubarev was explicitly mentioned in the copy of the dossier that was published.
Gubarev took legal action against BuzzFeed after it posted the entire 35-page dossier, a series of memos compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele. Gubarev, and his company XBT Holdings and its subsidiary Webzilla, were all referenced in the document for allegedly working with the 2016 Trump campaign.
The company was said to be “using botnets and porn traffic to transmit viruses, plant bugs, steal data and conduct ‘altering operations’ against the Democratic Party leadership.” Gubarev’s name was later redacted.
Buzzfeed was criticized for publishing the dossier in full, given that it contained unverified details and errors. The organization went to great efforts to gather information on the memos, including subpoenaing law enforcement and intelligence agencies, as well as hiring a former FBI and White House cybersecurity official to dig into its claims.
Ben Smith, BuzzFeed’s editor-in-chief, celebrated the win on Twitter Wednesday, thanking the organization’s founder Jonah Peretti and its top lawyer Nabiha Syed.
“As we have said from the start, a document that had been circulating at the highest levels of government, under active investigation by the FBI, and briefed to two successive presidents, is clearly the subject of official action,'” Smith tweeted. “Moreover, its publication has contributed to the American people’s understanding of what is happened in their country and their government.”
Vindication for our decision, and for reporters’ right to tell you what’s happening in your government. Incredibly grateful to @peretti & @nabihasyed for their true steadfastness. https://t.co/ctWqdxDxvY
— Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen) December 19, 2018
My statement: pic.twitter.com/apt7j3BToX
— Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen) December 19, 2018
Gubarev’s lawyers hinted they would appeal the verdict.
“First and foremost, nothing in today’s ruling by the Court suggests in any way that the allegations concerning Mr. Gubarev, Webzilla, or XBT Holding were true. Instead, the Court ruled on a narrow legal issue, finding that Buzzfeed had a privilege to publish the information even if it was false,” Gubarev’s attorneys told BuzzFeed. “When we started this case, we knew that it would be a marathon and not a sprint. We remain convinced that, after appeal, this matter will be presented to a jury and that we will succeed in vindicating the Plaintiffs’ good names.”
