![]() Twitter’s functions and terms of service allow for the sharing or even embedding of videos posted by other users, which Dhillon noted in her statement. 1, 2021 from protests in Portland and were recirculated with his own particular spin by Ngô a day later. The lawsuit cites two videos which Morgan and Lewis posted to Twitter on Oct. These claims are destined to fail-again-and we look forward to that day.” “This lawsuit is Antifa agitprop masquerading as a copyright claim, disconnected from reality both in fact and in law,” she said in an emailed statement. In response to a request sent to Ngô for comment, Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican Party official and lawyer who served as a legal adviser to Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, expressed confidence that Ngô, her client, would prevail. Larry Zerner, a Los Angeles copyright and entertainment lawyer also representing Morgan and Lewis, put it more succinctly: “This is about getting him to stop.” Ngô has the personal wealth, the backing of prominent figures on the right, and a seat kept warm for him on Fox News, all of which make litigation an daunting task, even before factoring in the at-times anonymous online trolls willing to take up his cause. Kessler continued: “In this case, Andy is the Goliath,” and Morgan and Lewis are David. Despite the frequent allegations of intellectual property theft, Ngô has been able to continue by “using copyright law in extremely cynical ways to shut down his critics… He’s able to weaponize the law.” “Andy is a parasite who is living off the hard work of independent journalists,” Alan Kessler, a Portland copyright attorney representing Morgan and Lewis told The Daily Beast. Not when, “his audience is so violent,” as Lewis described Ngô’s most rabid admirers. ![]() They believe they’re taking a stand on behalf of those who lack the means and the time to engage in litigation, or can’t afford to put themselves in Ngô’s crosshairs. Filing a lawsuit, then, is not just about putting an end to his alleged theft and subsequent mischaracterizing of their work, both Morgan and Lewis said. Often, those videos are presented with the context stripped or the truth obscured by Ngô, they claimed, all in service of a singular goal: pumping out viral-ready content portraying the left as inherently violent and dangerous, a product conservative audiences crave. “ has stolen content from a lot of independent journalists from Portland and all over,” she said. “ steals videos from everybody,” said Lewis. ![]() By grabbing videos wherever he finds them on Twitter, he’s positioning himself as a one-stop news source for urban conflict, whether he’s on-the-ground or not. But from Morgan and Lewis’ point of view, Ngo has exceeded those boundaries. As a media figure, Ngô is well within his rights to comment or share the works of others. In order to keep the steady stream of content flowing, Morgan and Lewis told The Daily Beast, he necessarily relies on footage shot not just by other journalists but activists and bystanders as well. ![]() Nor has it put a stop to the deluge of harassment they’re met with when Ngô repurposes their work.Īs Ngô has become the right’s favorite chronicler of left-leaning activists-and, according to his fiercest critics, a propagandist for the far-right-reporting from the field has become a near-impossibility in light of the threats he’s received. Morgan alone has had the footage she shot at protests distributed without her permission by Ngô on 38 instances since 2020, she said, and blocking him hasn’t done her or Lewis any good. According to one list compiled by independent researchers, Ngô has been hit with Digital Media Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices dozens of times, with many of the claims made in the last 18 months. Morgan and Lewis are far from the only independent reporters and videographers to take issue with Ngô’s social-media aggregation tactics. ![]() They are seeking an injunction to stop him from any future acts of infringement plus $300,000 in compensation for damages, a lawyer representing the pair said. District Court, Grace Morgan, 33, and Melissa Lewis, 31, allege Ngô has profited from repeatedly snatching and reposting the original, firsthand videos they shot while covering leftist protests and civil unrest. Right-wing provocateur Andy Ngô has been sued in federal court by two Portland-based photojournalists, alleging he violated copyright law. ![]()
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