Trump Media's $3.8B defamation suit against Washington Post dismissed
What's the story
A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a $3.8 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Trump Media and Technology Group against The Washington Post. The case stemmed from a 2023 article titled "Trust linked to porn-friendly bank could gain a stake in Trump's Truth Social." US District Judge Thomas Barber ruled that Trump Media failed to provide sufficient evidence for a jury to find that The Post acted with actual malice while publishing the allegedly defamatory statements.
Legal threshold
'Trump Media couldn't prove actual malice'
The Post's lawyers argued that Trump Media couldn't prove "actual malice," a high legal standard public figures must meet to win a defamation case. This means the defendant either knew a claim was false or showed "reckless disregard of whether it was false or not." The Post's reporter Drew Harwell had "thoroughly investigated" the subject and "had confidence in the article's accuracy at the time of publication," according to The Post's lawyers.
Company stance
Trump Media will continue to hold media accountable
Trump Media said, "We believe a jury should decide whether these falsehoods were actionable and will evaluate whether to appeal last week's ruling in due course." The company also said it would continue holding the media accountable. Trump Media, which runs Truth Social, a niche social network popular among President Donald Trump's supporters, has been losing money for years with less than $1 million in revenue in Q1 2026.
Legal battles
Trump Media has previously sued other outlets
Trump Media has a history of lawsuits over news coverage it deemed false. A defamation lawsuit against The Guardian and others was dismissed by another Florida judge last November. The company initially filed an amended complaint but dropped the matter altogether in April. In May, while awaiting the judge's ruling, The Post published a correction to its 2023 story stating that "discovery in the ongoing litigation has established" two assertions in the story were incorrect.