YouTube grew to become the most recent media and tech firm to settle one among President Trump’s lawsuits.
On Monday, YouTube grew to become the most recent media and tech firm to settle one among President Trump’s lawsuits.
The Google-owned streamer agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit Trump filed after his account was banned following the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on the U.S. Capitol. That brings Trump’s haul from media and tech firms to greater than $90 million within the final 12 months.
A few of these fits cope with conflicts the president has skilled with information networks reminiscent of ABC and CBS. Others confront the fallout from the assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Among the settlement cash can pay for renovations to a presidential library Trump is constructing on 2.6 acres of waterfront property in Miami. Different funds will go to the nonprofit Belief for the Nationwide Mall, with the intention of constructing a Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom, which is predicted to value $200 million general.
Right here’s a rundown of the payouts:
YouTube: $24.5 million
After the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, YouTube suspended the president’s account on the platform due to Trump’s alleged function within the rebel. On the time, the corporate had cited “issues in regards to the ongoing potential for violence” and violation of its “insurance policies for inciting violence.”
Trump’s lawsuit, filed in 2021 on the U.S. District Court docket in Northern California, argued the account’s suspension was “censorship.” Earlier than the case was settled, YouTube had already lifted its suspension on Trump in March 2023, in gentle of the then-upcoming presidential race.
In courtroom paperwork filed Monday, Alphabet, the mum or dad firm of YouTube and Google, didn’t admit any wrongdoing within the matter. The corporate didn’t comply with make any coverage or product modifications within the deal.
Of the $24.5 million, $22 million goes to Trump, who will contribute the cash to the Belief for the Nationwide Mall, which is “devoted to restoring, preserving, and elevating the Nationwide Mall” in addition to supporting the development of the White Home State Ballroom, in line with the submitting.
Alphabet can even need to pay a further $2.5 million to different plaintiffs within the case, together with the American Conservative Union and author Naomi Wolf.
Social media platforms Fb (now Meta) and Twitter (now X) had suspended Trump’s accounts over Jan. 6, 2021. On the time, Twitter put out a press release, saying that latest tweets from his “account and the context round them — particularly how they’re being acquired and interpreted on and off Twitter” needed to be suspended to keep away from “the danger of additional incitement of violence.”
Mark Zuckerberg of Meta additionally posted a press release on Fb after banning Trump’s Meta accounts. He wrote, “We imagine the dangers of permitting the President to proceed to make use of our service throughout this era are just too nice.”
In July of that 12 months, Trump sued the businesses for “censorship.”
By January 2023, Meta had reinstated Trump’s Fb and Instagram accounts, as had X in 2022.
Shortly earlier than Trump was going to take workplace for his second time period, in January 2025, Meta determined to pay the incoming president $25 million to settle the lawsuit. Elon Musk, who had bought Twitter and renamed it “X” within the interim, agreed to pay $10 million to settle its Trump case.
Paramount World: $16 million
Paramount World agreed to pay $16 million to resolve Trump’s authorized salvo in opposition to CBS’ “60 Minutes” over the modifying of an interview together with his 2024 opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump claimed “60 Minutes” producers edited an interview with Harris to make her look higher and bolster her probabilities within the election. CBS denied the claims, saying the edits have been commonplace and the case was seen as frivolous by 1st Modification consultants.
Trump wrote on Fact Social that CBS “did every part attainable to illegally elect Kamala, together with fully and corruptly altering main solutions to Interview questions, nevertheless it simply didn’t work for them.”
Final Might, CBS supplied $16 million to settle the civil swimsuit filed in Texas. The lump sum included the president’s authorized charges and an settlement that “60 Minutes” will launch transcripts of interviews with future presidential candidates.
Lower than a month after the settlement, the Federal Communications Fee permitted Skydance Media’s acquisition of Paramount, which owns CBS.
Disney: $16 million
Early final 12 months, ABC information anchor George Stephanopoulos asserted on the community’s “This Week” information program that Trump was discovered responsible for raping author E. Jean Carroll. In Might 2023, a jury in New York declined to seek out Trump responsible for rape, however did discover him responsible for sexual abuse of Carroll.
Trump responded to the on-air feedback with a defamation lawsuit filed in federal courtroom in Florida. The lawsuit was settled by ABC Information, owned by Disney, final December. Disney agreed to pay $15 million towards Trump’s presidential library and $1 million of Trump’s authorized charges.
The settlement additionally included an editor’s observe, posted on the ABC Information web site, expressing remorse for Stephanopoulos’ feedback.
Occasions workers author Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.
