Legal threats against publishers
Government-backed legal threats against publishers include defamation suits filed or supported by officials, prior-restraint motions, gag orders sought against ongoing reporting, and the procurement of judicial subpoenas designed to extract source information rather than serve a legitimate evidentiary need. The publication treats this category as distinct from ordinary libel litigation by private actors; the question is whether the state is using its legal advantages — its prosecutors, its lawyers, its ability to fund extended litigation — to deter publication.
2026 Events (2)
Entergy Arkansas sued reporters and a records requester seeking a gag order over public-records reporting on its Google deal
Entergy Arkansas LLC filed an emergency federal lawsuit on September 1, 2026 against the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Arkansas Times, a reporter, an editor, and private citizen Jessica Kivell, seeking a temporary restraining order to block further disclosure of documents detailing Entergy's power agreement with Google for a West Memphis data center. Kivell had obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request to the Arkansas Public Service Commission, which released them in error, and shared them with the Democrat-Gazette; Entergy's filing also asked the court to order the newspaper to retract its already-published story, on trade-secret grounds.
FBI Director Kash Patel files $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over reporting on alleged drinking and mismanagement
On April 20, 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick over her April 17 article describing what witnesses called "bouts of excessive drinking" and unexplained absences and reporting mismanagement at the bureau. Patel had publicly threatened to sue both before publication — telling the magazine "I'll see you in court — bring your checkbook" — and after the story ran. The Atlantic called the suit "meritless" and said it would "vigorously defend" its reporting and journalists.
2025 Events (1)
Trump sued Wall Street Journal reporters and Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion over Epstein reporting
On July 18, 2025, President Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones, News Corp., Rupert Murdoch, and Wall Street Journal reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo over the paper's July 17 report that Trump sent Jeffrey Epstein a bawdy 50th-birthday letter. Trump denied writing the letter and called the story "false, malicious, defamatory" reporting; Dow Jones said it had "full confidence" in its reporting and would defend against the suit.
2024 Events (1)
Trump sued The Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer under Iowa consumer-fraud law over an unfavorable pre-election poll
On December 16, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump sued The Des Moines Register, its parent company Gannett, and pollster J. Ann Selzer under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, alleging "brazen election interference" over a Selzer poll published days before the November 2024 election that showed Trump trailing Kamala Harris in Iowa; Trump ultimately carried the state by more than 13 points. Press-freedom advocates characterized the suit as a retaliatory action meant to punish and chill unfavorable political polling and news coverage. The case was subsequently litigated across federal and Iowa state court.