I get it. Opinion pieces are just that: opinions. I definitely agree that opinions are well within the rights of the first ammendment.
In a way I find it funny how the judge is implying that it doesn't matter what WaPo says because they're just opinions. Clearly they're not facts or lies. It pretty much sums up how honest WaPo is, right?“Few principles of law are as well-established as the rule that statements of opinion are not actionable in libel actions,” wrote Bertelsman, a Carter appointee. “The statements that Sandmann challenges constitute protected opinions that may not form the basis for a defamation claim.”
Well....
So they're admitting it's NOT opinion? And what of the claim of available evidence? They had ALL available evidence from the beginning. The only thing the followup comments do is corroborate what was in the original video evidence. WaPo just chose to ignore the majority of the original video and take things completely out of context to suit their need to publish something click worthy in minimal time. How is that fair or accurate? It sounds like to me WaPo shot themselves in the foot with that statement. But they don't care. This will never be reported by the MSM, so the masses won't know about it.“From our first story on this incident to our last, we sought to report fairly and accurately the facts that could be established from available evidence, the perspectives of all of the participants, and the comments of the responsible church and school officials,” Washington Post director of communications Shani George said in a statement.