{"id":2405898,"date":"2025-02-24T07:45:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T12:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nbc-news-settles-30m-defamation-lawsuit-after-fake-news\/"},"modified":"2025-02-24T07:47:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T12:47:44","slug":"nbc-news-settles-30m-defamation-lawsuit-after-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nbc-news-settles-30m-defamation-lawsuit-after-fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"NBC News Settles $30M Defamation Lawsuit After Fake News"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnbc-news-settles-30m-defamation-lawsuit-after-fake-news%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2405898&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>NBCUniversal has settled \u200ca $30 million defamation lawsuit after several prominent hosts\u200c of the\u2063 network falsely accused Dr. Mahendra Amin,\u2063 a Georgia physician, \u200cof performing unneeded\u2062 hysterectomies on women detained at an\u200c immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.The\u2063 claims originated from a 2020\u200b article that\u2064 cited whistleblower Dawn Wooten, a former nurse at the facility, who\u200b alleged that Dr.\u200b Amin\u200b was leaving women &#8220;bruised&#8221; and performing &#8220;mass hysterectomies.&#8221; However, during his tenure, Dr. Amin only performed two hysterectomies, both deemed \u200dmedically \u200cnecesary and \u200capproved by \u2062ICE, with informed consent from the patients.<\/p>\n<p>Investigations later found no substantiation for the allegations of mass hysterectomies, and records confirmed that both surgeries were performed according to medical standards. Despite questions about the validity \u2062of Wooten&#8217;s claims, NBC aired the accusations, leading to public\u200d statements from hosts like \u200cRachel Maddow and Nicolle\u2064 Wallace. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-supreme-court-takes-up-trump-lawsuit-days-ahead-of-electoral-college-vote\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Supreme Court Takes Up Trump ... Days Ahead of Electoral College Vote\">judge ruled<\/a> that \u200bthese hosts made numerous &#8220;verifiably false&#8221; claims about\u2064 Dr.Amin, \u2064indicating potential &#8220;actual malice&#8221; on the part of \u2064the network. \u2062The precise amount of the settlement has \u200dnot been disclosed, and the case, due to go to trial, highlights issues regarding media accountability \u2062in reporting allegations without\u2064 sufficient evidence.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EIlOudbgliA\">  MSNBC \/ YouTube <\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/24\/nbc-settles-30m-defamation-lawsuit-after-fake-news-about-doctor-at-ice-facilities\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=NBC%20Settles%20%2430M%20Defamation%20Lawsuit%20After%20Fake%20News%20About%20Doctor%20At%20ICE%20Facilities&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/24\/nbc-settles-30m-defamation-lawsuit-after-fake-news-about-doctor-at-ice-facilities\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=NBC%20Settles%20%2430M%20Defamation%20Lawsuit%20After%20Fake%20News%20About%20Doctor%20At%20ICE%20Facilities&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/24\/nbc-settles-30m-defamation-lawsuit-after-fake-news-about-doctor-at-ice-facilities\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/24\/nbc-settles-30m-defamation-lawsuit-after-fake-news-about-doctor-at-ice-facilities\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=NBC%20Settles%20%2430M%20Defamation%20Lawsuit%20After%20Fake%20News%20About%20Doctor%20At%20ICE%20Facilities&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/24\/nbc-settles-30m-defamation-lawsuit-after-fake-news-about-doctor-at-ice-facilities\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>NBCUniversal <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Joint-Notice-of-Settlement.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">settled<\/a> a $30 million defamation lawsuit after several of the network&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">biggest hosts falsely accused<\/a> a Georgia doctor of unnecessarily &mdash; and without authorization &mdash; performing hysterectomies on illegal immigrants in an ICE facility. <\/p>\n<p>NBCUniversal reporters Julia Ainsley, Jacob Soboroff and Danielle Silva published an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/latino\/nurse-questions-medical-care-operations-detainees-immigration-jail-georgia-n1240110\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">article<\/a> in 2020 based on claims by whistleblower Dawn Wooten, a former nurse at a Georgia ICE facility. The story identified Dr. Mahendra Amin as the &ldquo;uterus collector&rdquo; and alleged Amin was leaving women &ldquo;bruised and performed unnecessary procedures, including hysterectomies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-221192968\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Hosts like Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace and Chris Hayes went on to falsely accuse Amin of performing, according to the lawsuit, &ldquo;mass hysterectomies on female detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Georgia.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;NBC reported allegations that Dr. Amin performed hysterectomies that were unnecessary, unauthorized, or even botched,&rdquo; according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/district-courts\/georgia\/gasdce\/5:2021cv00056\/85242\/209\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a>. But Amin only performed two hysterectomies on women who were detained at the facility during his approximate three-and-a-half year span working there, according to the lawsuit. Each procedure required approval from ICE, according to the suit. Further, both patients &ldquo;signed informed consent forms for their procedures.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>A Senate subcommittee investigation later found the allegations of mass hysterectomies could not be substantiated. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Records indicated that Dr. Amin performed two hysterectomies on ICDC detainees, between 2017 and 2019. Both procedures were deemed medically necessary by ICE,&rdquo; the Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsgac.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/imo\/media\/doc\/2022-11-15%20PSI%20Staff%20Report%20-%20Medical%20Mistreatment%20of%20Women%20in%20ICE%20Detention.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> found. <\/p>\n<p>Amin sued NBCUniversal for defamation in 2021, denying the allegations. During the discovery process it was revealed that both MSNBC and NBC reporters and executives acknowledged they were unsure whether Wooten&rsquo;s allegations were true but nonetheless reported them. <\/p>\n<p>In one exchange, senior deputy head of Standards at NBCUniversal Chris Scholl hesitated to publish the initial article, writing in an email that Wooten &ldquo;provides no evidence to back up her claims.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[Wooten] has no direct knowledge of what she&rsquo;s claiming, is unable to name the doctor involved (if I understood correctly), and we are unable to verify any of it or determine whether there really is a story here,&rdquo; Scholl said, according to details from a <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.gasd.85242\/gov.uscourts.gasd.85242.209.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">June order<\/a> in the suit. <\/p>\n<p>One of the reporters on the initial story even responded to Scholl that ICE was working on obtaining the numbers of hysterectomies performed at the facility but that they &ldquo;believe the data will negate her claims.&rdquo; Scholl also said in a call that Amin &ldquo;has a pretty clean record.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Scholl later approved the story for publication after he felt the reporters obtained enough independent information to support Wooten&rsquo;s claims, according to the June order. This published story was the basis for subsequent <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/media\/rachel-maddow-and-her-co-stars-made-verifiably-false-statements-about-a-doctor-they-called-the-uterus-collector-now-his-30-million-lawsuit-is-headed-for-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">false reporting<\/a> by Maddow, Wallace, and Hayes.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Judge Lisa Godbet Wood <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.gasd.85242\/gov.uscourts.gasd.85242.209.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> that Maddow, Wallace and Hayes made 39 &ldquo;verifiably false&rdquo; claims about Amin. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the end, we are left with this: NBC investigated the whistleblower letter&rsquo;s accusations; that investigation did not corroborate the accusations and even undermined some; NBC republished the letter&rsquo;s accusations anyway,&rdquo; Wood wrote in a June order. <\/p>\n<p>The judge found that a jury could reasonably conclude the network acted with &ldquo;actual malice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear what sum the suit was settled for. The case was expected to go to jury trial in April in Georgia. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/chris-hayes\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Chris Hayes<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/defamation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">defamation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/georgia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Georgia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ice\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ICE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/msnbc\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">MSNBC<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/nbc\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">NBC<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/propaganda-press\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">propaganda press<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/rachel-maddow\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Rachel Maddow<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NBCUniversal settled a $30 million defamation lawsuit after its hosts wrongly accused a Georgia doctor of unauthorized hysterectomies on immigrants<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2405899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-23-at-3.51.20-PM-e1740344268181-1024x577.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[39615,34247,41580,35465,9811],"class_list":["post-2405898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-defamation-lawsuit","tag-fake-news","tag-media-ethics","tag-nbc-news","tag-settlement"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-23-at-3.51.20-PM-e1740344268181-1024x577.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2405898"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2405902,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405898\/revisions\/2405902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2405899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2405898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2405898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2405898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}