March 30, 2021

Review the full judge’s ruling here

A Federal Judge in California found that Planet Aid had sustained its burden of proof showing that Reveal News had published 46 false statements about Planet Aid and DAPP Malawi.

Among the 46 statements by Reveal, the Judge found, contrary to Reveal’s false allegations, that Plaintiffs had demonstrated that there was no diversion of donor funds, and that all funds were accounted for and went to the intended projects.

The Court nevertheless found that Reveal’s reporters had not acted with the requisite "malice" in publishing these false statements in order to be found liable. Under U.S. law, if the party suing for libel is deemed a "public figure," the defendant can escape liability even if they acted negligently but without provable malice. While Planet Aid is surprised that a responsible media outlet could publish 46 false statements in a series of articles without malice, we are gratified that the Judge agreed with the essential issue in the case - that statements were false.

Planet Aid and its partners believe passionately in the work we do to improve people's lives in the world's toughest regions. Every day, we strive to support critical on-the-ground development projects to help people build better lives for themselves, and we will continue to do this.