YouTube will pay President Donald Trump $24.5 million as part of a lawsuit brought against the platform after it suspended the president's account following the January 6 riots. Here is the latest on this settlement, as well as an update on Trump's other recent legal battles.

YouTube Agrees to Settlement with Trump for $24.5 Million

Popular social media and video platform YouTube has agreed to pay President Trump $24.5 million after it suspended his account on January 12, 2021. During the suspension, Trump was not allowed to upload new content. The Alphabet-owned platform defended the suspension at the time, saying that the videos could be used to incite more violence. The settlement was filed on September 29 in a federal court in Oakland, California, bringing an end to the lengthy legal battle.

YouTube was not the only platform that pulled Trump's access in the days after the January 6 riots. Social media and video platforms, including X (then Twitter) and Facebook, also banned the president from posting from his official account after his supporters attempted to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election by storming the U.S. Capitol.

Authorities in Washington, D.C. estimated that about 10,000 people breached the police barriers set around the Capitol grounds on this infamous day. Approximately 2,000 of those demonstrators entered the Capitol building, inciting a riot that was blamed for four direct fatalities. Over 150 police officers were also injured in the riots.

The president filed lawsuits against Twitter, Alphabet's Google, and Facebook owner Meta in July 2021. The chief executives of each company were also named in the lawsuits, alleging that the platforms intentionally silenced conservative voices.

X settled the lawsuit for about $10 million earlier in the year, while Meta settled for a pricetag of $25 million. YouTube lifted the ban on Trump in March of 2023, announcing that his channel was no longer restricted.

The YouTube settlement directs that $22 million will be paid to the Trust for the National Mall on Trump's behalf. This nonprofit organization has been entrusted with funding the $200 million ballroom that Trump is planning to build on the grounds of the White House. The remaining $2.5 million in settlement money is earmarked for the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit. This includes the American Conservative Union.

Update on Trump's Other Legal Cases

It has been a busy year for the ongoing lawsuits brought by Trump against the media. The president recently settled a federal lawsuit with CBS parent company Paramount Global to the tune of $16 million. This lawsuit was brought after Trump complained about the bias of an interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. This interview aired on "60 Minutes" in October 2024, just a few weeks before the November presidential election.

Trump alleged that CBS intentionally edited the interview to paint Harris in a more favorable light. The broadcasting company aired two versions of the interview with Harris as she appeared to give differing viewpoints on the subject of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The case against CBS was sent to mediation last spring after Paramount continued to assert that the allegations were without merit. While Paramount initially argued for the case to be dismissed entirely, the company eventually relented and agreed to a settlement. However, Paramount insisted that he settlement money be directed toward Trump's future presidential library rather than paid to him directly. Paramount also issued an official statement saying that the settlement agreement did not come with an apology or admission of regret.

Last December, ABC's parent company, The Walt Disney Co., settled a lawsuit with Trump for $15 million. This federal lawsuit was brought in March of 2024, accusing ABC and George Stephanopoulos of defamation while the news anchor interviewed Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina. The Republican has been vocal in recent years about her rape when she was a teenager. While interviewing Mace, Stephanopoulos mistakenly said that Trump was found liable for rape, asking Mace how she could endorse him as a presidential candidate.

On the other side of the coin, Trump was found liable for the sexual assault and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million. Trump was later found liable on more defamation claims and ordered to pay Carroll an additional $83.3 million. Despite Trump's appeal of this judgment, the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan recently declined to dismiss Trump's request not to pay the $83.3 million. This September 8 ruling means that Trump is still responsible for paying nearly $90 million in damages to Carroll.

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