Man misidentified as Charlottesville driver sues far-right websites for defamation

[Neverdul]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/374412-man-misidentified-as-charlottesville-driver-sues-far-right-websites

GotNews, FreedomDaily, the owner of Gateway Pundit and 19 other individuals are named in the lawsuit, which was filed in a federal court Wednesday.

Joel Vangheluwe, a Michigan resident, and his father, Jerome Vangheluwe, filed the suit, seeking damages for defamation, emotional distress, and invasion of privacy.

“Defendants used the Vangheluwes as political pawns, shifting the blame from alt-right extremists to an innocent 20-year-old boy who never owned or drove the car in question,” the suit alleges.

Joel Vangheluwe was falsely identified as the driver of the car that killed one counterprotester, and claimed in the suit that the pair were “falsely accused of assault, terrorism, conspiracies, murder, and racially charged violence.”

The family was forced into hiding in August after the far-right websites and individuals named in the suit allegedly spread Vangheluwe’s name on social media.

[Suppressed]

Sadly, we get this FR-style sort of defamatory cr@p posted right here.

Some examples:

http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,304239.msg1606094.html#msg1606094
@rangerrebew

http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,304171.msg1605669.html#msg1605669
@mrclose

[LauraTXNM]

Something similar happened after the Boston Bombing ;(.

[Frank Cannon]

This is a bullshit lawsuit. First off, the language used in it sounds like boilerplate Left wing radical chatter. Referring to Alt-Right and white nationalists is hinky. Secondly the dude suing did own the car at some point. His is attached to it whether he likes it or not. Reporting on that may or may not be uncomfortable for him, but it isn't illegal.

[Frank Cannon]

Sadly, we get this FR-style sort of defamatory cr@p posted right here.

Some examples:

http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,304239.msg1606094.html#msg1606094
@rangerrebew

http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,304171.msg1605669.html#msg1605669
@mrclose

We also had fake news stories posted here about the FL shooter being a member of a White Supremacist group. Where's your outrage at that? Guess it only bothers you when criminals are tied to your Rat pals.

[Neverdul]

This is a bullshit lawsuit. First off, the language used in it sounds like boilerplate Left wing radical chatter. Referring to Alt-Right and white nationalists is hinky. Secondly the dude suing did own the car at some point. His is attached to it whether he likes it or not. Reporting on that may or may not be uncomfortable for him, but it isn't illegal.

@Suppressed
@Frank Cannon

So if I once owned a car that subsequently passed through several other owners and many years later was used in the commission of a murder, some internet warrior and creep like Charles C. Johnson  identifies me as the murder and publishes personal information about me - you don't think I'd sue?

GotNews and Gateway Pundit are notorious for doing this. They are not news org. or journalists but more glorified bloggers who have often doxx innocent people.

Not that that relieves the LSM from irresponsible reporting either.

But that doesn't make Johnson and Jim Hoft off the hook either.

As Suppressed pointed out, an innocent and completely unrelated person with a similar name as Nikolas Cruz but different spelling, different middle name and different DOB was all over the WorldWideInternets, here and on other sites being identified as the shooter.

I don't know where that first got reported, could have been an MSM outlet, but days after it was correctly reported (within the first hour), it's still being passed around today as fact.

As for the sites being sued, they are not inaccurately labeled as "far-right" anymore than it would be incorrect to label HuffingtonPost and Mother Jones as "far-left".

[Frank Cannon]

@Suppressed
@Frank Cannon

So if I once owned a car that subsequently passed through several other owners and many years later was used in the commission of a murder, some internet warrior and creep like Charles C. Johnson  identifies me as the murder and publishes personal information about me - you don't think I'd sue?

Anyone can sue for anything. There is no guarantee it will ever see the light of day though. This dope doesn't have a case. Can anyone show me where they intentionally targeted this Leftist? Looks like typical sloppy reporting that comes out at the beginning of a story.

I am also having trouble finding where this guy is going after the guys who actually threatened his life. That is illegal, yet he is suing some no name blogs.

[mrclose]

Sadly, we get this FR-style sort of defamatory cr@p posted right here.

Some examples:

http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,304239.msg1606094.html#msg1606094
@rangerrebew

http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,304171.msg1605669.html#msg1605669
@mrclose

@Suppressed

Guilty and I feel awful about it.

I don't believe that I have ever posted unverified information like I did here before.

I was so sure about the info because I checked and saw it in a lot of places that I usually trust.

It wont happen again.

[Neverdul]

We also had fake news stories posted here about the FL shooter being a member of a White Supremacist group. Where's your outrage at that? Guess it only bothers you when criminals are tied to your Rat pals.

That would be because the spokesperson for the white supremacist group spread that false information. The media was trolled with the misinformation. Sad that there wasn't an effort to investigate before publishing but in this time of near instantaneous reporting, it happens, but was corrected.


https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/16/florida-shooting-white-nationalists-415672

Law enforcement agencies say they have no evidence so far to support this claim, and the rumor appears to have been perpetrated by white nationalist trolls themselves.


But a few hours later, after law enforcement agencies said they had no evidence linking Cruz to ROF, Jereb said his identification of Cruz was a “misunderstanding” and that he, too, had been the subject of a “prank.” On online forums and Twitter, trolls and white nationalists gloated at the disinformation they had sowed.


“All of our evidence seems to point to the ADL getting this wrong,” said Joan Donovan, a researcher who tracks online misinformation campaigns for Data & Society, a think tank in New York City.


The ADL subsequently revised its report, as did many news outlets.

[Neverdul]

@Suppressed

Guilty and I feel awful about it.

I don't believe that I have ever posted unverified information like I did here before.

I was so sure about the info because I checked and saw it in a lot of places that I usually trust.

It wont happen again.

It happens, we've all probably been duped by unverified information especially in the first 24 hours of a major news story . There are sites that I don't trust (and GotNews and Gateway Pundit are among them because I've gotten burned by them before), so I try to find multiple sources and some sort of confirmation.

[Frank Cannon]

That would be because the spokesperson for the white supremacist group spread that false information. The media was trolled with the misinformation. Sad that there wasn't an effort to investigate before publishing but in this time of near instantaneous reporting, it happens, but was corrected.

Yeah right. The information your pals in the MSM used for that shit story was gotten off a 4Chan thread without any verification, but you have your panties in a bunch because some bloggers used govt' DMV records to determine the ownership of a vehicle.

Your about as consistent as the Soros funded lawyer peddling this stupid lawsuit.

[Frank Cannon]

It wont happen again.

Bullshit. You post what you want, when you want. Most of us are smart enough to decide for ourselves if it is credible or not.

[Neverdul]

Yeah right. The information your pals in the MSM used for that shit story was gotten off a 4Chan thread without any verification, but you have your panties in a bunch because some bloggers used govt' DMV records to determine the ownership of a vehicle.

Your about as consistent as the Soros funded lawyer peddling this stupid lawsuit.

We shall see Frank, we shall see. But I have to run now because I'm expecting an important telephone call from George Soros and then going to dinner with all my pals in the MSM. 

[Suppressed]

@Suppressed

Guilty and I feel awful about it.

I don't believe that I have ever posted unverified information like I did here before.

I was so sure about the info because I checked and saw it in a lot of places that I usually trust.

It wont happen again.

 

@mrclose  We all make mistakes.  Many are not man enough to admit it and try not to do it again.   What bothers me are those who don't seem to care about defaming the innocent.

[Suppressed]

This dope doesn't have a case. Can anyone show me where they intentionally targeted this Leftist? Looks like typical sloppy reporting that comes out at the beginning of a story.

Intentional targeting isn't required.  Reckless disregard of whether something is false or not is important, legally, and why care is given in reporting.  Otherwise, malicious claims could be published without any regard for truth. 

[Suppressed]

We shall see Frank, we shall see. But I have to run now because I'm expecting an important telephone call from George Soros and then going to dinner with all my pals in the MSM.