United States The court banned The New York Times from publishing news about the conservative Project Veritas group

Stateside The New York Times has been banned from publishing the conservative Project Veritas group, magazine themselves and the news agency Reuters say.

This is a rare case where the right to prevent journalistic media from publishing news or obtaining certain documents for news purposes. The order is based on a defamation lawsuit filed by the group against the newspaper. The lawsuit relates to a video released by Project Veritas alleging, among other things, electoral fraud in the state of Minnesota. The New York Times reported that no evidence had been found for the allegations, which Project Veritas considered defamation.

Prohibition concerns, inter alia, the notes taken over by the magazine and written by a lawyer for Project Veritas.

“This decision is unconstitutional and sets a dangerous precedent,” NY Times Editor-in-Chief Dean Baquet said.

“When the court silences journalism, it deceives citizens and undermines their right to information. In the case of the Pentagon’s paper landmark decision, the Supreme Court made it clear that the publication of newsworthy journalism cannot be prevented. This principle is obviously suitable for this. We intend to seek an immediate review of the decision. “

In the Pentagon papers, Baquet refers to a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the then president Richard Nixonin an attempt to ban The New York Times and The Washington Post from publishing documents. The documents dealt with U.S. operations in Vietnam from the 1940s onwards.

Organization for Freedom of the Press CEO of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of The Press Bruce Brown described the court’s decision as “one of the most serious threats to freedom of the press”.

Judge Charles Wood set the following date for Tuesday.

Project Veritas has used, among other things, false personal data and hidden cameras to carry out a covert operation with the aim of disrupting the activities of, among others, trade unions, the Democracy Party and the news media.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the group, which is suspected of involvement in the country’s president Joe Biden stealing a daughter’s diary.