Trump Sues 20 Media Outlets Over Misreporting On Truth Social Losses: What Is The Issue All About?

Former US President Donald Trump remains deeply aggrieved by the inaccurate coverage surrounding the financial setbacks of his Twitter alternative, Truth Social.

In the latest lawsuit on Monday, the former President contends that these reports constitute a far-reaching media conspiracy, implicating "no less than 20 major media outlets."

Filed in Sarasota County, Florida, on behalf of Trump Media & Technology Group, the lawsuit identifies various significant news outlets as well as niche platforms with a focus on finance, politics, or left-leaning perspectives as the defendants. Notable entities listed in the lawsuit include MSNBC, Newsweek, CNBC, Reuters, The Daily Beast, the Miami Herald (along with its executive editor Alex Mena), Mediatie, The Hill, The New York Daily News, the Daily Mail, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, Salon, Deadline, and Miami Herald.

What Is The Case All About?

His lawsuit claims that the mention of $73 million figure "was an utter fabrication. Each defendant, in apparent coordination, reported the exact same false number within approximately 24 hours of one another, each citing to a public Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filing, in which the mystery $73 million loss appears nowhere."

It was "a coordinated effort" to damage the reputation of Trump Media & Technology Group and to "torpedo" the merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp.

The lawsuit points to what it deems a conspiracy by highlighting the very nature of journalism itself as evidence. It specifically notes the similarity in headlines regarding the financial losses and underscores that although articles were updated and corrected, they were not taken down from the websites.

Now, Trump's Truth Social wants $1.5 billion in damages from the news organizations.

"On November 14, 2023, TMTG contacted each of these media defendants, notifying them in writing of their error, specifying that their statements about a supposed $73 million loss were false and defamatory, and demanding a retraction and apology. To date, while some defendants have issued little-noticed "corrections" or "updates," none have retracted the defamatory articles, publicly apologized, or taken any other steps to ameliorate the continuing damage," the lawsuit alleges.

Nonetheless, some media houses including CNBC has made corrections to the story and posted 'Editor's Note'.

"This article and headline have been corrected to state that Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, has lost $31.6 million since it was founded in 2021, according to an SEC filing. A previous version gave an incorrect figure for the total loss. This article has also been corrected to reflect that in 2022 TMTG had a profit - rather than a loss - of $50.5 million," the note read.

Truth Social is the alternative social media platform backed by former President Donald Trump after he was banned from Twitter and suspended from Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook and Instagram after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.