(RepublicanInformer.com)- In June of 2020, conservative video meme-maker Logan Cook (AKA Carpe Donktum) released a clever video of a black toddler running away from a white toddler with the CNN logo and chyron overlaid on it. The chyron read “Terrified Toddler Runs From Racist Baby” and “Racist Baby Probably a Trump Voter.”
The screen fades to black and a caption reading “what actually happened” pops up. Then, the unedited video plays, revealing that the two toddlers hug each other in the end.
The meme was brilliantly conceived. What better way to show an example of how the American corporate news media manipulates the truth to attack Trump and Trump supporters?
But for that video clip, Carpe Donktum was permanently banned from Twitter – most likely because President Trump tweeted the video out to his tens of millions of followers. It was viewed 20 million times before Twitter removed it, ostensibly for copyright violation complaints.
Well, in September 2020, the parents of the two toddlers featured in the video meme sued both Logan Cook and the Trump campaign claiming the video meme violated NY civil law by using the video for advertising purposes without consent. In addition to claiming that the video inflicted pain and mental anguish, the parents also accused Cook and the Trump campaign of inflicting emotional duress as well as breaching their duty to act responsibly.
Cohen and Trump’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit – arguing that the meme was parody that “unequivocally involves a topic of significant public concern.” What’s more, the lawyers argued that the video is protected because it was satire and not directed at any of the plaintiffs in the suit.
And on Wednesday, July 7, New York State Supreme Court Judge David Cohen granted the motions to dismiss the case. In his decision, Judge Cohen agreed with the defendants that the video is newsworthy and therefore protected against some of the plaintiff’s claims.
Cohen wrote that it was “common knowledge” that Trump’s principle tactics in both his campaign and presidency is to attack the “mainstream news as purveyors of ‘fake news’” – including claiming that the media is exaggerating the “extent of racial division” in the country.
Given that common knowledge, Cohen ruled that the Carpe Donktum video, “however distorted” is newsworthy, so the plaintiffs are not protected by New York civil law.
On Friday, Logan Clark spoke with the Gateway Pundit expressing his relief that this frivolous lawsuit has been put to bed, adding “It has been overshadowing everything for the past year.”
