Independent journalist Alex Berenson scored another victory for free speech last week when he settled his lawsuit against the federal government for $150,000 and an acknowledgement that “the Government did in fact violate the First Amendment by exerting substantial coercive pressure on social media companies such as Twitter to suppress disfavored speech like Plaintiff’s; . . .” Berenson’s win does not end his case, however, as he continues to pursue his claims against two other defendants. And in settling with Berenson, the Trump administration just strengthened the former New York Times reporter’s case.
In 2020, Berenson gained a heavy following on Twitter as he criticized the public policy response to Covid-19 and challenged the conventional wisdom of the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. As his lawyer would later explained in briefing, “Twitter became the primary outlet for his journalism which earned him hundreds of thousands of followers while the company resisted calls from third parties to censor his reporting.”
However, following coercion from members (and then former-members) of the Biden Administration, along with alleged pressure from representatives of Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer Pfizer, Twitter permanently banned Berenson. Unaware of those concerted efforts toward banning him, Berenson originally sued only Twitter, alleging, among other things, breach of contract and other state law claims premised on the social media giant’s violations of its own promises and policies in banning Berenson.
As part of the discovery in his case against Twitter, Berenson obtained internal Slack messages which revealed the Biden Administration’s role in Berenson being permanently banned from the social media giant. After Berenson went public with the Slack messages, Twitter settled with Berenson, reinstating his account and acknowledging he never should have been suspended.
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