WE Charity Sues the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for Defamation in Lawsuit Citing Mountain of Evidence

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2022 /CNW/ - WE Charity has commenced legal action against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in response to false and misleading reporting by journalists Mark Kelley and Harvey Cashore in a series of stories alleging that WE Charity deceived its donors about its projects in Kenya. The case was filed in federal District Court in Washington, D.C. (No. 22-cv-00340).

WE Charity is suing the CBC to set the record straight for the thousands of children its donors set out to help. For over 25 years WE Charity has brought clean water, education, food, medical services and economic opportunity to communities around the world. This lawsuit seeks to protect those who depend on WE Charity's reputation.

"WE Charity looks forward to proving in court that the CBC's coverage was false and defamatory. The complaint cites extensive evidence showing that the CBC knowingly or recklessly disregarded the truth in its reporting," said the charity's lawyer Joseph Kroetsch. "In this lawsuit, WE Charity will demonstrate how at every step, the CBC pursued a false, preconceived narrative despite clear evidence that it was wrong."

The legal filing outlines how the CBC misrepresented the contents of WE's communications with its donors, edited quotes from documents to change their meanings, reported allegations the documentary record shows the CBC knew were untrue, and concealed facts that were inconsistent with the CBC's story. In more than two hundred pages of detailed allegations supported by evidence, the filing cites many examples, including:

1. WE Charity did not deceive its donors.  More than a hundred donors who contributed the vast majority of funding for Kenya repeatedly told the CBC they were wrong. [LINK] They made it clear that they understood the funding model and supported the way their donations were allocated in Kenya. The CBC reported the opposite: claiming that those very same donors were deceived. [LINK] Of its 53,000 WE Charity donors, the CBC only featured interviews with two former donors, and misrepresented the facts about their donations. [LINK]
   
   
   
2. WE Charity clearly demonstrated to the CBC that it built and renovated over 852 schoolrooms in Kenya—not the 360 the CBC reported. The CBC claimed WE Charity said it built only 360. WE Charity never said that—it consistently told the CBC the right number was 852. WE Charity provided photographs of each schoolroom and detailed maps with locations of each and every structure. [LINK]. Because the true number of schoolrooms did not fit the reporters' narrative, they claimed that WE Charity "inflated" the figure by counting latrines as schoolrooms. Multiple emails show the CBC knew that was not true. [LINK]. The CBC even edited an interview and cut a WE representative's confirmation that WE did not count latrines as schoolrooms. Instead, the CBC inserted a voiceover saying WE's count of schoolrooms included "even latrines, which inflated the total count." 
   
   
   
3. WE Charity hired the CBC's own go-to forensic auditor to conduct an independent review of WE Charity's financial records and provided the results to the CBC prior to its broadcast. The auditor's report concluded that all of the funding donors gave to support Kenya was used for Kenya. [LINK] The CBC never reported this fact and instead reported that the auditor concluded the opposite of what his report actually says. [LINK]
   
   
   
4. The CBC accused WE Charity of obstructing its ability to film at schools when it visited Kenya. The truth is, the CBC obstructed its own investigation and falsely accused WE of a cover-up. Email correspondence shows that before accepting WE's invitation to visit Kenya, the CBC knew it needed Kenyan government permission to film at WE Charity-funded schools, which are run by the government. [LINK] But the CBC didn't get permission, and lied about obtainning it [LINK]. Kenyan government officials have since confirmed, "There is no record of the Ministry of Education issuing permission to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to film in schools in September 2021." Not surprisingly, in the middle of a COVID-19 outbreak, without the proper permissions, the CBC's film crews were denied access to school grounds.  The CBC never told the public any of this, and instead its reporter, Mark Kelley, feigned surprise: "we were told we couldn't come in, which we found to be kind of odd."  Worse, the CBC falsely claimed WE interfered with its sham investigation when it knew its problems were of its own making.

"Decisions made by the CBC have needlessly jeopardized the future for thousands of women and children who have counted on the generosity of donors," said Robin Wiszowaty, Kenya Project Director for WE Charity. "I personally invited Mark Kelley and Harvey Cashore to Kenya to see the structures, meet the children, and learn from the communities about our development model. Instead, they created a false narrative and they hurt a lot of people in the process."

The lawsuit asserts legal claims for defamation, breach of contract, promissory estoppel, and negligent misrepresentation by the CBC arising out of its publications and newsgathering conduct. WE Charity's lawsuit has been filed in the United States, the market responsible for most of its fundraising. The United States is known as the hardest place in the world to sue for defamation, but the charity, its board, and its major donors stand by the facts and the strength of WE Charity's evidence to hold the CBC accountable for its egregious actions. A group of generous donors are helping to financially support this legal action.

WE Charity intends to see the case through to trial.  

SOURCE WE Charity

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, [email protected]