Gawker gets sued for $35 million by man who claims he invented email

Shiva Ayyadurai, who says he invented email in the late 1970s, says Gawker ran two “false and highly defamatory articles” about him, reports BizJournals. The lawsuit states that one article, published on Gizmodo in 2012, falsely traces “the origin of email and call[s] Ayyadurai a liar, a ‘fraud’ and responsible for ‘a misinformation campaign.'” The lawsuit alleges that a second article on Gizmodo in 2014 was defamatory and called Ayyadurai a “fraud,” a “renowned liar,” and a “big fake.” In a statement a Gawker spokesperson said, “These claims to have invented email have been repeatedly debunked by the Smithsonian Institute, Gizmodo, the Washington Post and others.”MG