I actually count this as a subtle "win" for Taibbi. Aside from looking kind of like a doofus for bringing this case, it has the side-effect of "proving in court" that there is no evidence that he actually got paid to do any of this "right wing stuff".
If the defamation case stood, it would follow that he did in fact do all the things the book hints at. But since the case was dismissed, the conclusion is that the book is blowing a lot of smoke and mirrors but with no substantive evidence.
https://reason.com/volokh/2026/05/06/court-dismisses-matt-taibbis-defamation-lawsuit-over-owned-how-tech-billionaires-bought-the-loudest-voices-on-the-left/
vinney...axkl
npub19m…8axkl
2026-05-07 02:45:43 UTC
Author Public Key
npub19ma2w9dmk3kat0nt0k5dwuqzvmg3va9ezwup0zkakhpwv0vcwvcsg8axklPublished at
2026-05-07 02:45:43 UTCEvent JSON
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"kind": 1,
"tags": [],
"content": "I actually count this as a subtle \"win\" for Taibbi. Aside from looking kind of like a doofus for bringing this case, it has the side-effect of \"proving in court\" that there is no evidence that he actually got paid to do any of this \"right wing stuff\". \nIf the defamation case stood, it would follow that he did in fact do all the things the book hints at. But since the case was dismissed, the conclusion is that the book is blowing a lot of smoke and mirrors but with no substantive evidence.\n\nhttps://reason.com/volokh/2026/05/06/court-dismisses-matt-taibbis-defamation-lawsuit-over-owned-how-tech-billionaires-bought-the-loudest-voices-on-the-left/",
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}