Reputation as a Weapon: Breaking—Federal Civil Rights Suit Filed Against CCDH, U.S. Officials, and Tech Giants

A landmark 171-page federal civil rights lawsuit filed in Florida charges CCDH, Imran Ahmed, and U.S. officials with a four-year campaign of defamation against a dozen U.S. citizens.

Jun 05, 2025

They didn’t just come for my work. They came for the right of Americans to speak freely—to question, dissent, and stand apart.

They came for my name. My voice. My family. But truth outlives propaganda—and now, justice is coming.

This case isn’t only about freedom of speech. It’s about reputational warfare being waged through digital proxies and foreign surrogates—against citizens, institutions, and even officials who dare to speak truth in inconvenient times.

This week, my legal team—responsible for some of the most impactful health freedom victories during the COVID era—refiled and expanded a federal civil rights lawsuit against the powerful entities behind one of the most coordinated censorship and defamation campaigns in modern history. Filed in the Middle District of Florida, the case names:

The UK-based, Atlantic Council-affiliated Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH)
CEO Imran Ahmed
Senior U.S. government officials
And private tech platforms that colluded in my erasure

This isn’t just about me. It’s about the weaponization of reputation—as a tool of fear, exile, and enforced silence. It’s about protecting free speech in America from soft-power lawfare and transnational censorship.

View the full 171 page case filling here.

(NOTE: While certain officials from both the Biden-Harris and Trump administrations are named in this legal action to fulfill procedural requirements, the core censorship actions detailed in the complaint were principally carried out and escalated during the Biden-Harris administration—in close coordination with the UK’s Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) and affiliated entities such as the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The naming of officials from the current administration reflects the formal legal framework, not an equivalency of action or responsibility)

The Disinformation Dozen: A Weapon, Not a Warning

In 2021, CCDH released its infamous Disinformation Dozen report—an ideologically driven hit piece that accused twelve individuals, including myself, of being responsible for the majority of so-called “COVID misinformation” online.

It wasn’t peer-reviewed.
It wasn’t scientific (it had an astronomical margin of error of 1300 fold, i.e. it was a fraudulent and weaponized hit piece).
But it was designed to destroy reputations.

Imran Ahmed publicly stated that I “profit from causing death.”

That slanderous statement—and the broader disinformation campaign around it—was uncritically adopted by tech companies, major media, and U.S. government officials. The impact was immediate and severe:

All my major social media accounts were deleted (over 2 million followers)
GreenMedInfo’s platform and funding mechanisms were dismantled
Hundreds of hours of educational videos were purged from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
Fifteen years of work—obliterated overnight

But the trauma didn’t stop there.

Collateral Damage and the Cost of Proximity

The stigma created by the CCDH’s narrative didn’t end with me. It cast a long, chilling shadow across the lives and livelihoods of people around me.

Several longtime colleagues and advocates of my work quietly severed ties, canceled collaborations, and erased all public association. One refused to promote an event we were both featured in—explicitly citing fear of my presence on the same flyer. Another ended a years-long partnership with no explanation. This wasn’t disagreement. It was reputational fear—deliberately engineered to isolate and punish.

But the most disturbing development was this:

The very same CCDH report used to justify my blacklisting in the United States was cited in proceedings abroad—in the United Kingdom—initiated in April, 2023, where I was neither named as a party, nor served, nor informed, nor given any opportunity to respond.

This extrajudicial invocation of defamatory material—outside the jurisdiction of U.S. protections and without adherence to due process—is a clear abuse of procedural integrity.

Not only was I denied the most basic right of reply, but this discredited report appears to have been used to blacken the reputation of another, based solely on alleged association with me.

This is not speculation. This is documented reputational transference—a guilt-by-association tactic that weaponizes falsehoods through legal theater, without scrutiny or remedy (Note: my UK legal counsel is documenting the evidence and preparing to file a complaint if necessary).

Let this serve as formal notice to any and all colluding parties—including tech platforms, media entities, and Wikipedia editors and contributors—that the continued use or dissemination of the Disinformation Dozen report, or any derivative material used to defame my character, malign my work, or insinuate guilt by association, constitutes a live and evolving tortious offense.

This applies to:

Ongoing or future legal proceedings in the United States or abroad
Journalistic or academic publications or institutions relying on (or amplifying) defamatory claims
Wikipedia entries that reference the Disinformation Dozen report without context of its legal challenge and discreditation
Institutional attempts to justify cancellation, blacklisting, or reputational punishment based on this narrative weapon

There is long-standing legal precedent in both U.S. and international law that:

Defamation by implication (see Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990)) is actionable, particularly when reputation is harmed by innuendo or insinuation, not just false factual claims.
Guilt by association has been repeatedly condemned in case law as unconstitutional, notably in Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath, 341 U.S. 123 (1951), where the Court recognized the reputational harm caused by being listed in government accusations without due process.
The continued republication of defamatory statements, especially after legal notice has been provided, can trigger actual malice, exposing parties to heightened liability for damages (New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)).

To those continuing to platform or echo this misinformation:
You are on legal notice. You are not protected by ignorance. You are now accountable.

We are no longer operating in a vacuum of impunity.
We are operating in a field of active resistance and legal restoration.

Surveillance, Associations, and the Criminalization of Proximity

Beyond algorithmic suppression and digital blacklisting, a more insidious tactic has been observed—the weaponization of public appearances, affiliations, and proximity.

There is increasing concern that photographs of me attending lawful public events (including my recent White House visit)—sometimes simply standing near others—have been observed, compiled, and in some cases used inappropriately to craft a false narrative of guilt by association.

If such tactics are being used—including any instance where images of me in public spaces alongside high-profile figures—including individuals serving in federal leadership capacities—may be misrepresented to suggest wrongful conduct or conspiratorial alignment —then this would represent a serious breach of legal and ethical boundaries.

Such use would violate:

The First Amendment right to freedom of association
The Fourth Amendment protection against surveillance-informed inference
Articles 12 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
And, most critically, Article 29 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which protects the dignity and inviolability of cabinet-level officials from extrajudicial targeting or reputational misuse

To imply criminality or reputational risk based on proximity—especially involving a senior U.S. government official—is not only unethical, but potentially a violation of domestic and international law.

The 171-page federal complaint filed in the Middle District of Florida includes the following relevant allegations:

“Defendants created databases, compiled lists, tracked the online activities of Americans based on political viewpoints, and identified them for censorship and punishment.”
(¶133, Amended Complaint)
“This digital surveillance of American citizens engaged in constitutionally protected speech was not incidental—it was systemic.”
(¶134)
“The U.S. State Department coordinated with foreign governments and media to promote CCDH’s false claims—creating reputational harm across jurisdictions.”
(¶17–18)

These tactics, if in use, constitute:

Tortious interference
Defamation by implication
Reputational sabotage via extrajudicial targeting
And potentially, violations of diplomatic protections under international law

Formal Notice of Reservation of Rights

Let this serve as formal notice:
If any party—whether governmental, media-related, foreign, or platform-based—has used or is using:

Images of me or my public associations
Surveillance-informed narratives
Implied reputational guilt by proximity to public figures

…to damage my name or the reputations of those near me, such use is now under legal review.

This includes any legal or quasi-legal proceeding, domestic or foreign, that relies on CCDH-origin content, media echo chambers, or image-based insinuations of disrepute.

Such acts may give rise to claims for defamation, tortious interference, abuse of process, and violations of constitutional and international norms.

The Lawsuit: Accountability Begins Now

The refiled complaint details a broad network of constitutional violations, defamation, economic damages, and unprecedented state-private collusion.

We are demanding:

Affirmation of First and Fifth Amendment rights
Accountability for defamation, tortious interference, and reputational harm
An injunction to prevent further censorship-by-proxy
Full discovery to uncover how far this influence network truly extended

This lawsuit is filed on my behalf, Sayer Ji, alongside five other brave plaintiffs:
Erin Elizabeth, Rizza Islam, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Ben Tapper, and Dr. Sherri Tenpenny.

According to the CCDH report and multiple analyses, the so-called “Disinformation Dozen” included these additional figures: Joseph Mercola, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Ty Bollinger, Charlene Bollinger, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, Rizza Islam, Dr. Rashid Buttar, Erin Elizabeth, Dr. Kelly Brogan, and Kevin Jenkins. While not all are part of this legal action, the reputational targeting extended across this entire group, creating a chilling effect that demands collective redress.

We also acknowledge that others who were similarly targeted—though not named in this lawsuit—remain part of a broader constellation of reputational injury, including physicians, journalists, authors, and whistleblowers whose silence or exclusion was strategically enforced. We carry their stories too.

Together, we aim to set a precedent that restores constitutional order and deters future abuse.

This is not a class action, but its implications are far-reaching—potentially creating new legal ground for others impacted by state-private censorship collusion to step forward

To Support the Lawsuit

Our legal team will soon be launching a dedicated fundraiser through GiveSendGo to cover litigation costs, expert witness testimony, discovery, and trial preparation.

Funds will go directly to Childers Law, LLC and are held in a designated legal trust.
No plaintiff receives any personal distribution.

Stay tuned for the launch of this page - I will send an update when it is live.

To Support My Family’s Legal Defense Directly

For those who’ve asked how to support my family and legal defense needs more personally, I’ve shared a separate post:
👉 For Those I Love, For What I’ve Built

This support sustains our home front as I continue this costly legal battle.

To Our Allies in the Press and Public

The amended complaint has now been filed.

If you are preparing press releases to support this effort or fundraising outreach, we welcome your involvement.
We kindly ask that:

All press releases be reviewed by our legal team prior to release
Media requests be coordinated in advance, as legal counsel may need to be present

For reference, you may view the entire 171-page filing here.
Please direct all media inquiries and coordination to Suzette Witt (suzette.witt@smartbizlaw.com)

They thought if they erased my name, others would fall silent.
They thought if they isolated me, I would disappear.

They were wrong.

The wall they built to contain us is cracking.
And the truth is breaking through.

This marks the resurgence of a living field—one animated by ancestral memory, civic courage, and the precise timing of collective awakening

With clarity, strength, and unshakable purpose,
Sayer Ji

Disclaimer: This statement reflects the personal experiences, factual documentation, and constitutionally protected opinion of the author. Any legal claims or interpretations made herein are grounded in referenced legal precedent and are not to be construed as defamatory. All statements made against individuals or institutions are based on publicly verifiable conduct and subject to legal review. This communication is made solely on my own behalf. It is not coordinated with, nor does it represent the views, strategies, or legal positions of any other party.