Media monitoring company NewsGuard sued for defamation, helping feds violate free-speech rights

A media publication is striking back at NewsGuard, an American company that gives clients “reliability ratings and scores” for hundreds of news and information websites and often tags conservative sites with low grades. 

Consortium News has filed a lawsuit against NewsGuard and the U.S. government, accusing them of defamation and working in tandem to censor the outlet’s foreign policy reporting in violation of the First Amendment.

The publisher, Consortium for Independent Journalism, is seeking $13 million in damages and a permanent injunction declaring NewsGuard’s partnership with the U.S. government is unconstitutional.