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Author Steven Galloway finishes testifying at defamation trial

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Greer, D. (2026, October 16). Author Steven Galloway finishes testifying at defamation trial. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/steven-galloway-defamation-trial-ubc-9.7382846?cmp=rss

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CBC News · collected 2026-10-16 · by Darryl Greer

Quick Summary

Author Steven Galloway concluded his testimony in a defamation trial against defendants who published unproven allegations of sexual assault against him. During the hearing in Vancouver's B.C. Supreme Court, Galloway was questioned by defendant Glynnis Kirchmeier about her involvement with advocacy groups and contact with other defendants. Galloway alleged that his career as UBC’s creative writing chair was destroyed by these unsubstantiated claims and that he felt ashamed but not guilty of the affair with student A.B., underlining that such relationships were common without prohibitions at the time.
Written by AI on 2026-10-16, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 16, 2026, Steven Galloway, former University of British Columbia (UBC) creative writing chair and author of *The Cellist of Sarajevo*, has concluded his testimony in a defamation lawsuit trial at the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. Galloway filed the lawsuit in 2018 against several defendants, alleging that they defamed him by publishing unproven allegations of sexual assault. He claims these accusations destroyed his career and ability to write. During his testimony, Galloway mentioned that journalist Ronna Syed was the first person to contact him after the allegations surfaced, to which he responded with "no comment." The trial has seen several defendants settle and issue public apologies, while Galloway continues to assert that faculty-student relationships were common in UBC's arts program.

Written for “Steven Galloway Testifies At Trial” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Steven Galloway Testifies At Trial
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Court hears of intense campaign for public influence in Galloway case Different event
The Globe and Mail
Hedges 2 of 22 claims Outlet record 52/100
“While both articles discuss Steven Galloway's defamation case, Article A focuses on a hearing where behind-the-scenes activities are discussed, while Article B reports that Galloway has finished testifying in the trial. These appear to be different stages of the same larger event.”
At Toronto event, Margaret Atwood reiterates need for due process in Galloway case Different event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different aspects of related events: one focuses on Margaret Atwood's comments at an event in Toronto regarding Steven Galloway's case, while the other covers Galloway finishing his testimony in his defamation trial in Vancouver.”
Steven Galloway's defamation trial exposes the cost of a rush to judgment Different event
Toronto Star
Hedges 5 of 45 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A describes Galloway's testimony in his defamation trial, while Article B is an opinion piece about the broader impact and context of the trial.”
Galloway trial hears accuser first complained of sexual harassment to UBC campus security in 2013 Different event
The Globe and Mail
Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 52/100
“The articles describe different stages or aspects of the ongoing legal proceedings involving Steven Galloway's defamation trial.”
Steven Galloway gets cross-examined on UBC’s reasons for his termination Different event
The Globe and Mail
Hedges 2 of 24 claims Outlet record 52/100
“While both articles describe Steven Galloway's involvement in a legal proceeding related to his termination from UBC, they cover different stages of what appears to be an ongoing trial: Article A refers to cross-examination on the reasons for his dismissal, while Article B states that he has finished testifying at a defamation trial.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
1 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
74/100
CBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-16 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

CBC News · 1866 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Darryl Greer
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Hanson produced a report for the legal action, providing an estimate of Galloway’s projected earnings, and recalled in his testimony how The Cellist of Sarajevo was one of the “hot books” at the London Book Fair. “From what I gather there were heated auctions in many territories for the rights to that book,” he told the B.C. Supreme Court trial on Monday.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · Industry enthusiasm for Galloway book ‘remarkable,’ publishing expert testifies
🔮 Steven Galloway testifies that faculty-student relationships in UBC arts program were common Author tells B.C. defamation trial sexual assault claim derailed career, ability to write The court heard during the brief hearing in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday that the next witness is expected to be Ronna Syed, a producer for the CBC program the fifth estate.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Author Steven Galloway finishes testifying at defamation trial
🔮 Hearing counsel Brock Martland asked Birzneck about scenarios where a member of the public may be legally allowed to resist police use of force if the “police contact is unlawful,” but Birzneck says he believed Gray was “arrestable” at the time of the encounter.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Myles Gray not lawfully entitled to repel police during arrest, Vancouver officer says
🔮 I wish I could,' Steven Galloway told a Vancouver courtroom on Thursday Author and former University of British Columbia (UBC) creative writing professor Steven Galloway wept as he testified that he can no longer write since unproven allegations of sexual assault derailed his career.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Author tells B.C. defamation trial sexual assault claim derailed career, ability to write
🔮 She said he stopped playing piano and reading and writing after his career was derailed by the allegations, that would resurface repeatedly online after he was suspended in November 2015.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · Former UBC professor tells defamation trial he was 'shocked' by sexual assault accusation
🔮 The judge says the woman, referred to as A.B., has shown that identifying her would carry objective harms and specific risks, and allowing anonymity is in line with protecting the privacy and dignity of sexual assault complainants.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Defendant in author Steven Galloway's defamation case to remain anonymous
🔮 It said it has assigned “community recovery officers” to work with impacted areas and will “continue supporting local governments and First Nations as they lead recovery efforts in their communities, including through recovery planning, governance, co-ordination and available supports.”
2026-09-24 · assertive framing · 'God cleaned the slate': Ashes pave the road to recovery after B.C. wildfires
Also by Darryl Greer
Industry enthusiasm for Galloway book ‘remarkable,’ publishing expert testifies
2026-11-02 · The Globe and Mail
Myles Gray not lawfully entitled to repel police during arrest, Vancouver officer says
2026-10-15 · The Globe and Mail
Author tells B.C. defamation trial sexual assault claim derailed career, ability to write
2026-10-09 · CBC News
Former UBC professor tells defamation trial he was 'shocked' by sexual assault accusation
2026-10-07 · CBC News
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 7 articles by Darryl Greer →

Topics

B.C. B.C. Supreme Court UBC University of British Columbia Vancouver

Subjects

Galloway PERSON · 9× UBC ORG · 4× A.B. PERSON · 3× Steven Galloway PERSON · 3× B.C. Supreme Court ORG · 2× B.C. GPE · 1× Glynnis Kirchmeier PERSON · 1× Kirchmeier PERSON · 1× University of British Columbia ORG · 1× Vancouver GPE · 1×

Narrative

Galloway, who has been testifying since last week, said earlier in the trial that Syed was the first journalist to call him after the allegations surfaced, and says he told her "no comment." Galloway filed the defamation lawsuit in 2018 but several defendants have settled with him and published public apologies. The author of The Cellist of Sarajevo alleges his career was destroyed by the allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denies and were found unsubstantiated in a report by a former B.C. Supreme Court judge.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-16
🔮 Steven Galloway testifies that faculty-student relationships in UBC arts program were common Author tells B.C. defamation trial sexual assault claim derailed career, ability to write The court heard during the brief hearing in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday that the next witness is expected to be Ronna Syed, a producer for the CBC program the fifth estate.
2026-10-16 · CBC News
Author Steven Galloway finishes testifying at defamation trial · assertive framing

Claims (8 extracted, 1 hedged)

Author Steven Galloway finishes testifying at defamation trial Galloway alleges defendants defamed him by publishing unproven allegations of sexual assault Author and former University of British Columbia (UBC) creative writing chair Steven Galloway has concluded testifying in his defamation lawsuit trial in Vancouver. asserted
Galloway → finish → Vancouver
Galloway, who alleges the defendants defamed him by publishing unproven allegations of sexual assault, took questions from Glynnis Kirchmeier, a defendant in the case who is representing herself and attending the trial remotely. asserted
who → allege → trial
The former UBC student pressed Galloway about whether he believed she had been involved with an advocacy group for victims of sexual violence and harassment, and had also contacted other defendants, including A.B., another former student who made the allegations against Galloway. asserted
who → press → Galloway
Galloway says he found it "unlikely" Kirchmeier wasn't involved with the group because she was on one of its fundraising pages, and he recalled becoming nauseated about one of her tweets, and wondering "why is this person I’ve never met calling me a rapist?" asserted
I → say → me
Steven Galloway testifies that faculty-student relationships in UBC arts program were common Author tells B.C. defamation trial sexual assault claim derailed career, ability to write The court heard during the brief hearing in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday that the next witness is expected to be Ronna Syed, a producer for the CBC program the fifth estate. uncertain
witness → testify → program
Galloway, who has been testifying since last week, said earlier in the trial that Syed was the first journalist to call him after the allegations surfaced, and says he told her "no comment." Galloway filed the defamation lawsuit in 2018 but several defendants have settled with him and published public apologies. The author of The Cellist of Sarajevo alleges his career was destroyed by the allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denies and were found unsubstantiated in a report by a former B.C. Supreme Court judge. asserted
he → testify → judge
The court heard last week that A.B.'s defence no longer includes an assertion she was assaulted by Galloway, but rather that she reported the alleged assaults. asserted
she → hear → assaults
Galloway has testified he felt ashamed at having an affair with A.B., who cannot be named due to a publication ban, but there was no prohibition on sexual relationships between faculty and students at UBC and he knew of "numerous" other examples. asserted
he → testify → examples
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