Tech giant Facebook is reportedly threatening the producers of the upcoming Doomsday Machine TV show, which is based on the book An Ugly Truth, noted for its harsh criticism of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. The Masters of the Universe have hired Britney Spears’ lawyer to send the message that “Although our client is a public figure, the truth still matters.”
Deadline reports that Dawn Olmstead, the CEO of Anonymous Content, recently received a letter from Greenberg Traurig partner Mathew Rosengart, the attorney for Britney Spears, on behalf of Facebook warning the producers that the upcoming Doomsday Machine TV show, which focuses on the tech giant, could face legal trouble if Facebook believes that the show is defamatory against the company.
Mark Zuckerberg drinking (Getty/Chip Somodevilla )Doomsday Machine is an upcoming television adaptation of the book An Ugly Truth by Cecilia Kang and Sheera Frenkel. The book dives into Facebook’s mistakes as a company on issues such as misinformation, user security, and “hate speech.” The television adaptation is set to star Claire Foy as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and will focus primarily on the 2016 election period.
“AC can seek to create the Series without reliance on the absurd characterizations and false narratives of the Book,” the letter stated. Rosengart added: “Although our client is a public figure, the truth still matters.”
Rosengart’s letter to Anonymous Content further stated that “the First Amendment does not protect knowingly false statements or portrayals — or those made with reckless disregard for the truth — even about public figures.”
Rosengart then attacked the reporting in An Ugly Truth stating that it was “replete with false and defamatory statements, characterizations, and implications about Facebook and its leadership. Rosengart stated that if Anonymous Content were to include these alleged falsities in the television series, “Facebook will take all appropriate legal action.” Notably, Facebook has not taken legal action against the authors of An Ugly Truth since the book’s publication in June of this year.
Read more at Deadline here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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