Jan. 9 Mediation Conference Set in Defamation Appeal vs. Meta

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals set a Jan. 9 mediation assessment conference in journalist John Stossel’s appeal of a lower court’s dismissal of his defamation complaint against Meta, said an order Tuesday (docket 22-16765). Stossel alleged Meta improperly labeled his Facebook videos about climate change as containing misinformation, causing irreparable damage to his reputation and costing him reduced viewership and advertising revenue. U.S. Magistrate Judge Virginia DeMarchi granted Meta’s motion to dismiss on grounds that Stossel’s defamation claim is barred by the Communications Decency Act. The former 20/20 and Fox Business TV journalist now runs the online channel Stossel TV.