Megyn Kelly wonders if she can sue over fake Facebook Trending article

Megyn Kelly asks about suing Facebook over fake story
(Image credit: Fox News/YouTube)

If you happened to read over the weekend that Megyn Kelly was fired from Fox News because she's backing Hillary Clinton, she wanted you to know on Tuesday's Kelly File that neither of those things are true and that she may be able to sue for libel. Don't worry, Mark Zuckerberg. "I have no desire to sue Facebook, nor anybody else, because I really don't like lawsuits," Kelly told her two lawyer guests. "Which is ironic, since I was a lawyer for nine years, but you know, that's what it does to you."

But she did strongly suggest that Facebook rehire its Trending curators — last weekend was the first time Facebook allowed its algorithms to run its Trending feature, sidelining the human editors. ("So once again, Mark, the rhythm method fails," she quipped to one of the lawyers, Mark Eiglarsh.) And she wanted to know if "a regular person who isn't on TV every night and doesn't have the ability to show people it's a lie" could sue Facebook, if Trending targeted him or her with a false story. Eiglarsh said probably not, because of having to prove "malicious intent," but fellow lawyer Andell Brown was more bullish on a lawsuit. Either way, expect Facebook to tinker with Trending again soon, and you can watch Kelly's discussion below. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.