MSNBC’s Maddow Beats OAN Appeal Over ‘Russian Propaganda’ Remark

MSNBC Host Rachel Maddow’s comment that OAN “really literally is paid Russian propaganda” was an “obvious exaggeration” and, therefore, didn’t amount to defamation, the Ninth Circuit affirmed Tuesday in a loss for OAN owner Herring Networks Inc.

Maddow’s statement was “well within the bounds of what qualifies as protected speech under the First Amendment,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled. The court upheld her motion to strike the lawsuit under California’s anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or anti-SLAPP, law.

Herring Networks sued Maddow after she ran a segment on her show in July 2019 during which ...