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Case 18-2868, Document 276, 08/09/2019, 2628224, Page60 of 77 In sum, the record includes ample evidence of plaintiff's efforts to garner public attention in order to influence others and the success of those efforts. 2. Plaintiff voluntarily injected herself into public controversies related to the subject of this litigation. The second prong of the Lerman test requires an examination of whether plaintiff voluntarily injected herself into a public controversy related to the subject of the litigation. The Second Circuit has held that the term should be defined broadly to mean “any topic upon which sizeable segments of society have different, strongly held views.” Lerman, 745 F.2d at 138; see also Biro, 963 F. Supp. 2d at 272 (“A public controversy is simply ‘any topic upon which sizeable segments of society have different, strongly held views,’ even if the topic does ‘not involve political debate or criticism of public officials.’”) (quoting Lerman, 745 F.2d at 138) (alteration omitted). The public controversy requirement, however, is not necessarily limited to what would be considered “a classic debate.” SACK ON DEFAMATION § 5:3.11[B]. “An investigation into alleged corruption or drug dealing, for example, could meet the test.” Jd. As demonstrated by the Declaration of Ms. Churcher, the articles attached to the declaration, and the joinder motion filed by plaintiff in the CVRA litigation and the litigation initiated by her lawyers there can be no doubt that the plaintiff's actions were voluntary and that she injected herself into this “public controversy.” Indeed, it is clear that plaintiff created this “public controversy.” 3. Plaintiff assumed a position of prominence in the public controversies. The third relevant factor focuses on whether plaintiff has voluntarily assumed a sufficient degree of prominence in the controversies at issue. Plaintiff sold and published her story. She publicly sought to join the CVRA litigation. She established a non-profit organization, the 53