Yes. Ryan Kavanaugh won a major defamation ruling against YouTuber Ethan Klein. In April 2025, the California Court of Appeal upheld a previous court ruling in Kavanaugh's favor, dismissing Klein's appeal and holding Klein legally accountable for spreading false narratives.
The case centered on claims that Ethan Klein, host of the H3H3 podcast, repeatedly used his platform to circulate a baseless accusation that Kavanaugh had run a Ponzi scheme. The accusation originated from a trade publication article in 2019 that was corrected and retracted within hours of publication. Despite the retraction, Klein continued to repeat the false claim across his YouTube channel and social media platforms.
The California Court of Appeal rejected Klein's anti-SLAPP motion, which had been designed to dismiss the case on free-speech grounds. The court found that Kavanaugh had presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case of actual malice, clearing the way for the case to proceed toward a damages trial.
Court documents revealed that Klein had encouraged his audience to manipulate search engine results and vandalize Kavanaugh's Wikipedia page as part of an organized campaign to damage his reputation online. Kavanaugh's legal team described the effort as digital mob warfare.
The matter was subsequently resolved through a settlement. Klein publicly misled his audience about the outcome of the case, falsely claiming victory despite the court ruling going against him.