Filing # 186553510 E-Filed 11/20/2023 07:42:40 PM

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

IN AND FOR SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIVIL DIVISION

TRUMP MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY

GROUP CORP.,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No.:

GUARDIAN NEWS AND MEDIA, LLC,

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, LLC, THE COMPLAINT
MCCLATCHY COMPANY, LLC, d/b/a
Miami Herald, ALEX MENA, REUTERS DEMAND FOR A JURY
NEWS & MEDIA INC., ROLLING TRIAL
STONE, LLC, NEXSTAR MEDIA INC.,
d/b/a The Hill, DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD
LLC, ACCRETIVE CAPITAL LLC, d/b/a
Benzinga, MARKETWATCH.COM, LLC,
FORBES MEDIA LLC, AXIOS MEDIA
INC., THE DAILY BEAST COMPANY,
LLC, G/O MEDIA, INC. d/b/a Gizmodo,
SALON.COM, LLC, NEW YORK DAILY
NEWS, NEWSWEEK, MSNBC CABLE,
LLC, MEDIAITE, LLC, DMG MEDIA
LTD., d/b/a Daily Mail, and CNBC, LLC,

Defendants.

"#! This case is about an unprecedented and seemingly coordinated media

campaign, by no less than 20 major media outlets, to attack Trump Media &
Technology Group (“TMTG”) and its social media platform, Truth Social, by falsely
reporting that TMTG had lost $73 million. !
$#! This number was an utter fabrication. Each defendant, in apparent
coordination, reported the exact same false number within approximately 24 hours
of one another, each citing to a public Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)
filing, in which the mystery $73 million loss appears nowhere. !

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%#! This was a coordinated effort to damage TMTG’s reputation, degrade

the firm’s financial standing, freeze its access to capital, and torpedo the anticipated

merger between Digital World Acquisition Corporation (“DWAC”) and TMTG.!

&#! On November 13, 2023, DWAC submitted an amended S-4 registration
statement with the SEC, which marked a major milestone toward the completion of
the planned merger between DWAC and TMTG. TMTG publicly stated that the S-4
was good news for TMTG. !
'#! Because this filing involves TMTG and President Trump’s Truth Social,
however, these defendants ignored or downplayed TMTG’s public statements
regarding a positive development. Instead, they deliberately or recklessly published
false financial information to advance a preferred and coordinated narrative harmful
to TMTG.!
(#! All defendants ran nearly identical headlines that reported some
variation of “Trump’s Truth Social” having lost “$73 million.”!
7.! On November 14, 2023, TMTG contacted each of these media
defendants, notifying them in writing of their error, specifying that their statements
about a supposed $73 million loss were false and defamatory, and demanding a
retraction and apology. To date, while some defendants have issued little-noticed
“corrections” or “updates,” none have retracted the defamatory articles, publicly
apologized, or taken any other steps to ameliorate the continuing damage.
)#! Although TMTG will continue pursuing its mission and planned merger
with DWAC, the widespread misreporting across the entire media landscape has
nonetheless deeply harmed TMTG, eroding faith in the company’s operations and
management, and making it more difficult for TMTG to raise additional capital to
fund operations while its planned merger with DWAC is pending SEC review.
Existing investors and potential investors alike were concerned by the false stories.!

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*#! TMTG intends to hold these reckless and malicious media outlets to
account for their false reporting and for their seemingly coordinated effort to destroy

TMTG and Truth Social.!

PARTIES

10.! Plaintiff TMTG is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Sarasota,

Florida.
11.! Defendant GUARDIAN NEWS AND MEDIA, LLC (“The Guardian”) is
a Delaware limited liability company.
12.! Defendant HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, LLC (“The Hollywood
Reporter”) is a Delaware limited liability company.
13.! Defendant THE MCCLATCHY COMPANY, LLC, d/b/a Miami Herald
(“Miami Herald”) is a Delaware limited liability company, with its principal place of
business in Miami, Florida.
"&#! +,-,./0.1! 2345! 6472! 89! 0.! 8./8:8/;0<! =>?! @,98/,9! 8.! A<?@8/0B! 0./! 89! 1>,!
4C,D;18:,!4/81?@!?-!1>,!680E8!F,@0</#!
15.! Defendant REUTERS NEWS & MEDIA INC. (“Reuters”) is a Delaware
corporation.
16.! Defendant ROLLING STONE, LLC (“Rolling Stone” is a Delaware
limited liability company.
17.! Defendant NEXSTAR MEDIA INC., d/b/a The Hill (“The Hill”) is a
corporation based in Washington, D.C.
18.! Defendant DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD LLC (“Deadline”) is a Delaware
limited liability company.
19.! Defendant ACCRETIVE CAPITAL LLC, d/b/a Benzinga (“Benzinga”) is
a Michigan limited liability company.
20.! Defendant MARKETWATCH.COM LLC (“MarketWatch”) is a Delaware
limited liability company.

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21.! Defendant FORBES MEDIA LLC is a Delaware limited liability

company.

22.! Defendant AXIOS MEDIA INC. (“Axios”) is a Delaware corporation.

23.! Defendant THE DAILY BEAST COMPANY, LLC (“The Daily Beast”) is
a Delaware limited liability company.
24.! Defendant G/O MEDIA, INC., d/b/a Gizmodo is a Delaware corporation.
25.! Defendant SALON.COM, LLC (“Salon”) is a Delaware limited liability
company.
26.! Defendant NEW YORK DAILY NEWS COMPANY (“New York Daily
News”) is a New York corporation.
27.! Defendant NEWSWEEK DIGITAL, LLC (“Newsweek”) is a New York
limited liability company.
28.! Defendant MSNBC CABLE, LLC (“MSNBC”) is a Delaware limited
liability company.
29.! Defendant MEDIAITE, LLC (“Mediaite”) is a Delaware limited liability
company.
30.! Defendant DMG MEDIA LTD., d/b/a Daily Mail (“Daily Mail”) is a
media company based out of the United Kingdom.
31.! Defendant CNBC, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE

32.! This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this cause of action
pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 26.012 as it is a civil action with damages exceeding $50,000.
33.! Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction in Florida, pursuant to
Florida’s long-arm statute, Fla. Stat. § 48.193, because third parties in Florida
accessed the defamatory materials that they published, and it was directed at a
Florida-based social media company.

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34.! Venue for this action is proper in Sarasota County, Florida, as Plaintiff
is a citizen of Florida that resides in this Circuit, and Defendants’ speech was directed

at Plaintiff, causing Plaintiff damage in this Circuit.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

35.! TMTG is a start-up technology company that created and operates the
social media platform Truth Social.
%(#! Though relying on bridge financing to compete against dominant tech
giants worth tens of billions of dollars, Truth Social developed its own infrastructure
that now gives millions of Americans the opportunity to freely express their views on
culture, politics, art, sports, entertainment, and any other topic.!
%G#! In October 2021, TMTG and DWAC, a special purpose acquisition
company, announced their intention to effect a merger, which would result in TMTG
becoming a publicly traded company (thereby enabling retail investors who support
TMTG’s mission to invest directly in the company).!
%)#! Completing the merger is a crucial part of TMTG’s business plan, as
repeatedly expressed in public statements by both TMTG and DWAC, and in DWAC’s
public filings with the SEC.!
39.! On November 13, 2023, DWAC submitted an amended registration
statement on form S-4 to the SEC, a major milestone toward completing the planned
merger. The S-4 is publicly available.
40.! That same day, and continuing into the next, numerous media outlets,
including the named Defendants, in apparent coordination, ran materially identical
headlines and stories, each citing to the S-4 filing with the SEC, and falsely claiming
that the S-4 showed that TMTG lost $73 million.
&"#! The $73 million figure appears nowhere in the S-4 or anywhere else. It
was a complete fabrication—a fabrication made by these 20 Defendants within a 24-
hour period.!

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&$#! The following defamatory headlines and statements were published by

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&&#! The Miami Herald article referenced in Paragraph 44(b) and attached
as Exhibit B purports to be a republication of the report of The Hill from November
13, 2023 (see Exhibit E), and the Miami Herald article referenced in Paragraph 44(bb)
and attached as Exhibit BB purports to be a republication of the report of the New

York Daily News from November 14, 2023 (see Exhibit O).!
45.! Defendant Alex Mena, the Executive Editor of the Miami Herald made
the editorial decision to republish the recklessly false reporting of The Hill and New
York Daily News.

&(#! Additionally, the Miami Herald’s version of the New York Daily News
article was “updated” on November 14, 2023, maintaining the false $73 million loss,
despite New York Daily News having revised its article to remove that false number.
Defendants Miami Herald and Alex Mena are responsible for these editorial choices
to continue publishing what they knew to be false and defamatory information.!
47.! The $73 million loss figure does not appear anywhere in the DWAC S--4
filing, and the Defendants knew that it did not—or were at least reckless in their
disregard for the truth—because each of them had access to the publicly-available S-

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4 that was the purported basis of their articles. Indeed, many defendants cited to
and/or directly quoted from the filing.

48.! Another false statement made by 19 of the 20 Defendant (all except for
Axios), was to claim that the SEC filing showed a loss of $50 million in 2022. No such
loss is shown in the DWAC S-4.
49.! Each of the defamatory articles has been viewed millions of times,
including by residents of Florida.
50.! As a result of these widespread lies, TMTG has suffered actual damages.
Committed and potential investors have reacted negatively to the false news of TMTG
supposedly losing $73 million, and TMTG’s ability to raise additional capital has been
impaired.
'"#! Defendants are ostensibly in the business of publishing factual
information. However, their business models revolve around generating clicks, and
driving views to their websites. In this case, Defendants used the occurrence of a news
event—the filing of DWAC’s S-4 with the SEC, a significant milestone in TMTG’s
proposed merger with DWAC—as a pretext to intentionally or recklessly report the
fabricated $73 million loss figure and sensationalize the news with anti-Trump, click-
bait articles. !
52.! The incredible circumstances of all 20 Defendants publishing nearly
identical articles, within hours of one another, using the same fabricated figures that
appear nowhere in the S-4 filing upon which they ostensibly rely, would seem nearly
miraculous were it a coincidence. Instead, this chorus of falsehood evinces a
deliberate, malicious, and coordinated attack on TMTG and Truth Social.
53.! Upon information and belief, there are likely to be other parties involved
in this coordinated campaign that would stand to benefit from the damages caused to
TMTG.

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CAUSES OF ACTION
COUNT I
(Defamation and Defamation Per Se)
Against All Defendants
54.! Plaintiff incorporates by reference the above paragraphs as though set
forth fully herein.
55.! On November 13 and 14, 2023, Defendants engaged in a concerted effort
to destroy TMTG. Defendants have spread the lie that a public SEC filing by DWAC
showed that TMTG has lost $73 million since its launch.
56.! Defendant’s Defamatory Statements are false.
57.! Defendants published these articles to residents of Florida and directed
the articles at a Florida social media company.
58.! Defendants used their lies to drive viewers to their company to increase
their own revenue streams.
59.! Defendants published the Defamatory Statements knowing they were
false or with reckless disregard for the truth. Information regarding the true number
was publicly available in the DWAC S-4 filing with the SEC. The Defendants
purported to rely upon, and in many cases cited to and quoted from, the SEC filing.
Defendants went forward with this lie, publishing it, because of their political animus
and the opportunity to increase their own revenue streams.
60.! The Defamatory Statements constitute defamation per se because the
defamatory meaning is obvious on its face. Claiming that a company posted a $73
million loss when it did not is obviously defamatory because it creates a false,
negative impression about the financial condition of the company.
61.! The Defamatory Statements have directly and proximately caused
TMTG to suffer actual damages in Florida, where it does business. These damages
were foreseeable to Defendants.

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62.! Defendants published the Defamatory Statements knowingly,

intentionally, willfully, wantonly, and maliciously, with intent to harm Plaintiff, or

in blatant disregard for the substantial likelihood of causing it harm, particularly in

its home state of Florida, thereby entitling TMTG to an award of punitive damages.
63.! As a direct and proximate result of the misconduct of Defendants, TMTG
is entitled to compensatory, special, and punitive damages, as well as disgorgement
of any and all income Defendants have made off of their lies about TMTG.
COUNT II
(Injurious Falsehood)
Against All Defendants
64.! Plaintiff incorporates by reference the above paragraphs as though set
forth fully herein.

65.! Plaintiff is a technology startup company, that operates Truth Social, a

social media platform that gives millions of Americans the opportunity to freely
express their views.
66.! As repeatedly stated by TMTG and DWAC, the completion of their
merger is a crucial part of TMTG’s business plan. Also crucial is the continued raising
of capital to fund TMTG’s operations and enable it to compete with TMTG’s much

larger competitors.
67.! Defendants’ false assertions, that TMTG has posted $73 million dollars
in losses since launch, directly concerns TMTG’s business.
68.! Defendants intended for their false assertions to gravely harm TMTG
as a company by degrading TMTG’s reputation, financial standing, access to capital,
and prospects for completing its anticipated merger with DWAC. Defendants
reasonably recognized and intended that the publication of its assertions about
TMTG would result in pecuniary losses.

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69.! TMTG has suffered direct pecuniary losses as a result of Defendants’

accusations, including costs associated with lost business opportunities and resources

expended to defend itself against Defendants’ false statements.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. respectfully

requests this Court enter a judgment in his favor and grant relief against Defendants
as follows:
a.! An award of compensatory, special, and punitive damages, as well as
disgorgement of any and all income Defendants have made off of their
lies about TMTG, in the amount of $1,500,000,000.00;
b.! Injunctive relief prohibiting the publication or republication of the
defamatory statements;
c.! An award of Plaintiff’s costs associated with this action, including but
not limited to his reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses; and
d.! Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and appropriate

to protect Plaintiff’s rights and interests.

Demand for Jury Trial

Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.

Dated: November 20, 2023 By Counsel

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Jared Roberts

Jared J. Roberts
(Fl. Bar No. 1036550)
Jesse R. Binnall
(pro hac vice application forthcoming)
BINNALL LAW GROUP, PLLC
717 King Street, Suite 200

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Alexandria, Virginia 22314

Phone: (703) 888-1943
Fax: (703) 888-1930
Email: jared@binnall.com
jesse@binnall.com

Counsel for Trump Media &

Technology Group Corp.

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