Mark Robinson sues CNN, claims their reporting was ‘recklessly false’

Mark Robinson, the Republican Party’s candidate for governor of North Carolina, did sued CNN over its reporting in September that linked him to offensive comments on a pornographic website.

According to , Robinson’s defamation lawsuit alleged that CNN’s reporting was “recklessly false,” even though it offered no evidence beyond the claim that Robinson was the victim of “multiple data breaches.”

CNN has not commented on the lawsuit, but previously said it determined the account belonged to Robinson by matching his email address and username on the Nude Africa website to other online accounts belonging to Robinson.

According to CNN, the account discussed conversation topics consistent with Robinson’s interests and biographical information.

According to the lawsuit, “CNN – a politically left-wing media outlet whose reporting is often indistinguishable from Democratic Party talk and opposes politically conservative candidates for office, including Lt. Robinson – intended to harm Lt. Robinson in the gubernatorial election.”

Although Robinson’s campaign was already struggling before CNN’s report, it collapsed after its publication. After the allegations against Robinson were published, Republican allies reportedly began defecting. The lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages.

According to the civil grievance filed in Wake County Superior Court, Robinson also named Louis Money as a co-defendant within the lawsuit.

Money worked at several adult video stores within the Nineties and early 2000s, and in September 2024 said Robinson regularly visited porn stores in Greensboro, North Carolina, during that point.

According to the grievance, the comments CNN attributed to Robinson actually “came from hacked files containing data breaches obtained from the dark web.”

At a press conference on October 15, along together with his lawyer Jesse Binnall, Robinson said he intended to fight to the tip.

“When trouble comes, in what we call politics, you separate the strong from the weak,” Robinson said. “The weak will turn and flee, however the strong will stand and fight. And that is what we’re doing here today.”

Binnall, who previously represented former President Donald Trump, declined to supply evidence to support the lawsuit’s claims.

“We will have the opportunity to go further and prove what we have stated in the complaint and we are confident that we can do that,” Binnall said.

Notably, Republicans, including Trump, who vouched for Robinson before the report was released, have withdrawn from publicly supporting Robinson. Some have asked Robinson to withdraw from the race and fear that an association with Robinson could hurt Trump’s probabilities of winning North Carolina.