MSNBC is set to write a large check after the network chose to settle a $30 million defamation lawsuit. Multiple hosts were caught up in the scandal, including Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Nicole Wallace, all of which repeated the lie that a doctor was performing “mass hysterectomies” at an ICE facility under the Trump administration.
Georgia gynecologist Dr. Mahendra Amin was the subject of the malicious falsehood after two MSNBC reporters used a “whistleblower” named Dawn Wooten as the basis for a story. Her lack of credibility was apparently not an issue for the left-wing network, and numerous on-air personalities did segments dubbing Amin as the “uterus collector.” All of this was meant to compare the Trump administration to nazi Germany, suggesting detained illegal immigrants were being medically abused.
These are some of the comments on the Rachel Maddow hoax clip about the Georgia doctor performing Nazi-style operations to mass sterilize women at an ICE facility during Trump’s first administration. pic.twitter.com/5PzcDfrcnk
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) February 22, 2025
The judge in the case had already signaled that MSNBC was going to lose big at the previously scheduled April trial, which no doubt led to their sudden desire to settle.
Despite misgivings about Wooten’s credibility, MSNBC continued with stories that portrayed Dr. Amin as a virtual Dr. Mengele. Critics charged that the story was irresistible for the channel because it combined reproductive health, immigration, and social equity issues. Whatever the reason, hosts and executives set aside their doubts and ran stories that made Dr. Amin an infamous figure throughout the country.
Judge Lisa Godbey Wood (S.D. Ga.) found that the stories were false in claiming that Dr. Amin performed “hysterectomies that were unnecessary, unauthorized, or even botched.” She also found that MSNBC may have published the reports knowing that the allegations were false or with reckless disregard for the truth.
Here’s part of what the judge wrote in her summary judgment.
Multiple statements are verifiably false. The undisputed evidence has established that: (1) there were no mass hysterectomies or high numbers of hysterectomies at the facility; (2) Dr. Amin performed only two hysterectomies on female detainees from the ICDC; and (3) Dr. Amin is not a “uterus collector.” The Court must look to each of the statements in the context of the entire broadcast or social media post to assess the construction placed upon it by the average viewer. Doing so, the undisputed evidence establishes that multiple NBC statements are false.
The Court emphasized that “it does not matter that NBC did not make these accusations directly, but only republished the whistleblower letter’s allegations. If accusations against a plaintiff are “based entirely on hearsay,” “[t]he fact that the charges made were based upon hearsay in no manner relieves the defendant of liability. Charges based upon hearsay are the equivalent in law to direct charges.”
…the focus of these three broadcasts was not on unnecessary or unconsented-to “medical procedures.” The focus was on “mass hysterectomies” and “high numbers of hysterectomies,” performed without necessity and consent, at the facility. This is reinforced by MSNBC’s own headlines: “WHISTLEBLOWER: HIGH NUMBER OF HYSTERECTOMIES AT ICE DETENTION CTR.” and “COMPLAINT: MASS HYSTERECTOMIES PERFORMED ON WOMEN AT ICE FACILITY.”
It is not expected that any disciplinary measures will be handed down to Maddow, Hayes, Wallace, or the written journalists involved. CNN was recently found liable for defamation in a case involving a man trying to rescue American citizens during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. If anything, host Jake Tapper, who repeated the falsehoods on air, has only doubled down in his faux self-righteousness. You can expect the aforementioned MSNBC hosts to do the same, going right back to musing about “truth” even as they mislead their audiences for political gain.
The mainstream press is in a death spiral, and there will be no course correction. Instead, I expect its members to continue down the self-destructive path that has led to their currently-collapsing ratings and subscriptions. To many far-left political ideologues are embedded within the editorial structures, and there’s no convincing them to take a step back.
