Why Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit is surprisingly important

Former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is bringing a defamation suit against the New York Times in a trial that kicks off Thursday. [View in browser]( [Image]( February 3, 2022 THE LATEST [Alternate text] [Why Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit is surprisingly important]( by Jessica Levinson Former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is bringing a defamation suit against the New York Times in a trial that kicks off Thursday. [As Jessica Levinson writes](, "the case could test not only whether the Times must pay Palin, but how we will balance protection for people's reputations versus protection for the media in an online, social-media dominated world." The larger point of the suit, according to Levinson, goes beyond the unlikely odds that Palin will actually wins her case. "There's a reason we want to be so protective of the press: Its job is to inform us. If reporters and editors self-censor because they fear the time and expense of defending themselves against defamation suits, the public loses because we are deprived of information." Read Jessica Levinson's [full analysis]( your Thursday [MSNBC Daily.]( TOP STORIES [Alternate text] [A photo of Donald Trump and Lindsay Graham]( [Steve Benen]( [Why it matters that Trump is calling Lindsey Graham a 'RINO']( Just below the surface, there's a little more to this story. [Read More]( [A photo of Joseph Stalin]( [Hayes Brown]( [The U.N. can't stop Russia from invading Ukraine. Blame Joseph Stalin.]( That's exactly how the system was designed. [Read More]( [An illustration of Whoopi Goldberg]( [Ja'han Jones]( [Whoopi Goldberg's Holocaust ignorance said more about America than her]( She wasn't wrong in saying the Holocaust wasn't 'about race.' [Read More]( [A photo of a crowd at a Trump event in Texas.]( [Zeeshan Aleem]( [Trump's latest plan could be the beginning of a new protest movement]( Trump is pushing his followers toward violence — again. [Read More]( TOP VIDEOS [Alternate text] [A photo of Stewart Rhodes]( [The Beat with Ari]( ['Sociopath': Estranged wife of MAGA extremist charged with sedition describes terror she faced]( [A photo of Brian Flores]( [All In]( [Brian Flores: Belichick texts confirmed what we thought happened behind closed doors]( [A photo of Joe Biden]( [Stephanie Ruhle]( Biden approves sending troops to Eastern Europe]( [A photo of the Supreme Court building]( [Deadline White House]( [Michael Steele to Republican senators: 'Try being a Black woman in law school']( MORE FROM MSNBC [Alternate text] Sunday at 10 p.m. ET, MSNBC Films presents "[Love & The Constitution](," a new feature documentary that provides an insider's view into the life of Rep. Jamie Raskin and an intimate look at both a nation and congressman in crisis. The film follows Rep. Raskin for over three years as he fights to defend democracy during Donald Trump's presidency and in the second impeachment trial while navigating an intense personal tragedy amid the loss of his son, who passed away just days before the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. How do we make sense of this unprecedented moment in world history? Why is this all happening? Chris Hayes asks the big questions that keep him up at night every week on his podcast, aptly titled, "[Why Is This Happening?](" In the [newest episode](, Chris talks to author Jonathan Katz about how one of the most decorated warfighters in history turned into a warrior against war, imperialism and big business. His name is Smedley Butlter and Katz writes about his life in a new book, "Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire." Katz also discusses efforts throughout history to establish a fascist dictatorship, parallels between the Jan. 6 insurrection and an attempted coup in 1934 and the role of globalism in capitalism. [Image] [Image] [Privacy]( [Unsubscribe](listvar=sub_daily)