Fact Check: Is The Atlantic planning to issue a retraction of Kash Patel story and settle lawsuit?

WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the high-stakes $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and its staff writer, a claim has been circulating on social media platforms that the magazine has agreed to publish a retraction in its next edition and settle FBI Director Kash Patel’s lawsuit against them. Let us analyze the rumor and fact-check the viral claim.

Claim: The Atlantic is expected to issue a retraction and settle Kash Patel's lawsuit

According to the viral claim that surfaced on Facebook, The Atlantic magazine plans to print a retraction in its next edition over an alleged "defamatory hit piece" on Kash Patel.

The post also claimed that it has placed the reporter who wrote the piece on administrative leave without pay while they vet her sources.

"It should never have gotten this far," Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Joe Barron allegedly said, "Our reporters are expected to conduct themselves with integrity."

The post further alleges that the outlet is expected to settle the lawsuit before it reaches the discovery stage.

Fact Check: The claim originated as a satire

However, there are no official announcements or statements from the magazine about publishing a retraction in its next edition. 

There is also no evidence that staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick, who wrote the controversial piece about Patel, was placed on administrative leave without pay. 

A search on Google for the claim yielded no credible results from any prominent news outlets reporting on it. If true, it would have been widely covered. 

Moreover, the claim was first posted on a popular parody account on Facebook called America’s Last Line of Defense, which states in its bio, "Nothing on this page is real."

Hence, it can be said that the claim was posted as a satire for the sake of engagement.

Kash Patel sues The Atlantic over 'defamatory hit piece'

Patel filed a lawsuit against The Atlantic on April 20, demanding $250 million after the magazine published an article claiming he had “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”

The FBI director's lawyers accused The Atlantic and staff writer Fitzpatrick of publishing “a sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece” against him and claimed that the allegations in the article were “false,”  "fabricated," and "designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation."

The lawsuit listed out achievements of Patel, and lawyers claimed that the FBI director was “entitled to compensatory, special, and punitive damages, in an amount not less than two hundred and fifty million dollars ($250,000,000), as well as disgorgement of all income Defendants have earned by virtue of their lies about Director Patel.”