Questions tagged [defamation]
Tortious damage to a reputation. When the defamation is specifically written use "libel"; use "slander" when it is specifically spoken.
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Is it defamatory to publish nonsense under somebody else's name?
Imagine that a supposedly academic journal intentionally publishes an AI-generated article which is full of claims which are easily verifiable nonsense to any expert in the field. The article is ...
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Can an Organization Sue a Public Official for Defamation?
After reading about DeSantis describing Satanic Temple as "... not a religion". I was wondering if the church might have grounds to sue for defamation.
My reasoning would be that (please ...
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Could God sue you?
Let's say someone defames God 491 times. God proceeds to
Contact a local law firm in vision
Hire the law firm to a file lawsuit on His behalf
Would God or the law firm run into any procedural issues?...
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Can an insult be defamation per se?
In my view, one can differentiate between "pure insults" such as "a-hole" (which do not claim anything about the such-named except that the speaker disapproves of them) and ...
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Is it safer to sarcastically say "This is not a scam" than honestly say "This is a scam"?
It is a thing that youtubers get sued for calling out scams. One "solution" is to sarcastically say something non-defamatory while making it clear you mean the opposite. I am fairly sure ...
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Is it illegal to share a recording of someone else's private conversation?
Can a private conversation that has been recorded without the knowledge of any involved in the conversation. Then shared in a text message amongst 20+ people be considered illegal? It was shared to ...
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Is challenging an elderly American politician to take a cognitive test a violation of HIPPA law(s)?
During the Presidential Debate that took place on June 27, 2024, between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Mr. Trump challenged President Biden to take a cognitive test to prove that he is mentally fit to ...
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Is a movie resonsible for damages caused to unintentional (but undeniable) likenesses?
Say that a huge blockbuster movie mentions a made-up phone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx for the serial killer villain. Except, it turns out that that phone number is real and points to an ordinary Joe. That ...
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Does a defamatory statement have to be public?
(US context)
Most of the time, defamation suits seem to involve writings or statements that are read or heard by members of the public. I know that in specific situations--say employment--someone ...
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What counts as a ‘third party’ in the context of libel?
This post asks about the law jurisdiction of England & Wales.
As I understand it, and I am happy to be corrected on this point, for a written statement to be libellous, it must be published to a ...
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Instant checkmate publishing old information [closed]
I had been removed from a sex offender registry years ago. A site called InstantCheckmate is still publishing my address and information as a registered sex offender. They claim their “policy” is they ...
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Can I be sued for defamation where the subject of the defamation became provable after the alleged defamation?
Suppose I write in a public Facebook post that Joe the Roofer is a liar and a dishonest person. My post causes Joe to lose customers and his revenue decreases.
Joe sues me for defamation.
Shortly ...
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Can legal action be reasonably taken against someone spoiling your work?
Infamously, when the Fight Club was released, Rosie O'Donnell spoiled a huge plot point on her popular show. The movie hinges tremendously on the spoiler, and Rosie probably damaged the experience for ...
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Is accusing someone of a crime slander if you believe the accusation to be true?
I have just read a short story ("The Disagreeable Man", by Henry Cecil) in which a dubious (to me) legal trick is used to con a small town out of a significant amount of money. I want to ...
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Can legal action reasonably be taken against someone unsavory for endorsing your product/company?
Advertisers don't want their product/company associated with certain people/content. Which is why a lot of ads don't play on more controversial content (e.g. demonetized videos on Youtube).
But what ...
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Can someone explain the thinking behind the libel (?) case between Trump and Carroll for a non-US audience?
As far as I understand the situation between Donald Trump and EJ Carroll she has, very publicly, accused him of rape but there is no conviction or anything else "supporting" that accusation (...
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Can a civil court impose criminal contempt charges?
For a 2nd time, Donald Trump is being sued by E. Jean Carroll for defamation charges relating to his ongoing defamatory actions towards her.
The 1st lawsuit relating to these litigants occurred in May ...
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Is a false assumption question defamation?
In Canada, if a person is in the habit of embedding false allegations inside questions, e.g., the classic:
"Have you stopped beating your wife?"
is there a point where this becomes ...
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How do US judges determines defamation damages?
CBS:
Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy following $146 million defamation suit judgment
Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy less than a week after a jury ordered him to pay $146 million in ...
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Does "defamatory" mean untrue? [duplicate]
Rudy Giuliani admitted to the court in his defamation trial, where he had accused election workers of changing votes, that "he made the alleged statements and they they were per se defamatory&...
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What are the rules about defamation when information is accidentally released?
It is in the news that Omid Scobie, the author of the book Endgame, is claiming that he produced an early version of his book with potentially defamatory statements about the UK royal family. This ...
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What is the "important thing" that can make a true statement defamatory wrt the X/Media Matters lawsuit?
It is in the news that Elon Musk's social media platform X has sued Media Matters a media watchdog group. Media Matters has published multiple reports about X alleging adverts for major companies have ...
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Has any acquitted defendant ever lost a defamation case, accused of committing the crime?
Trevor the truth teller witnesses Craig the criminal commit a crime.
The police speaks to Trevor and charges Craig.
At the trial, the jury for whatever reason does not find Trevor's testimony reliable ...
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Is publishing defamatory statements from an "anonymous source" protected?
Say that Andy the Actor is minding his own business, when the Washington Post posts an article about him, claiming that, according to anonymous sources, Andy is a racist bigotted transphobe that has ...
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What makes politicians "fair game"?
People say and write things about politicians they would never dream of saying about celebrities or corporate tycoons. They accuse them of lying, corruption, and racism and create political cartoons ...
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Legal Term for Legal Issues in Media Other Than IP
The first legal arena most writers learn about is probably copyright, or intellectual property (IP). However, there are many other issues to be aware of, including defamation, immorality, the right to ...
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Which countries law applies in online defamation?
Let's say Person A who lives in Germany writes defamatory statements on Twitter, incorporated in the US, about Person B who lives in Thailand.
Person B suffers damage abroad as a result of the Tweets. ...
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Opinion vs Defamation [duplicate]
Alex Jones was fined over $1 billion for defaming Sandy Hook parents. I don't know the details, but I believe the essence of the case is that he claimed certain individuals were involved in a ...
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Is a defamatory statement that could be reasonably understood as referring to someone that it does not actually refer to illegal?
From an article on Not the Bee (emphasis added):
Joe [Biden]... lies daily, without reservation, because it has become his very way of living. To lie is to be Joe Biden. He takes after his father in ...
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Identifying people protected by estate rights
When a person writes an article or book about a living person, the author has to deal with issues like publicity rights, rights to privacy, moral rights, and defamation. If I'm not mistaken, these ...
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Is there precedent for defamation/moral injury due to public ignorance in the UK?
Due to a separation, I've heard mention of my ex-partner thinking about an "Occupancy Order" which basically sets out who can live in a marital home.
These are, as it turns out, distinct ...
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Is there a viable cause of action for exposing someone of academic misconduct?
Is there a viable cause of action for exposing someone's academic misconduct from a country different than the one the exposed person lives and works.
For instance if you live in a European country, ...
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When does s3(1) of the Defamation Act *not* apply in malicious falesehood cases?
To successfully bring a claim for maliicous falsehood in the UK, one has to show that one has suffered "special damages", which are actual damages suffered as a direct consequence of a ...
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What is the smallest audience for a communication that has been deemed capable of defamation?
Descriptions of the criteria for defamation seem widely to describe any statement that is communicated to a third party as being defamatory if they are (broadly speaking) false and harmful.
This seems ...
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Is it illegal to say somebody is crazy when it is obviously false in the US?
One time I was walking quickly in a park trail for my exercise routine in California, and there were dog owners who didn't leash their dogs or use a 25 foot leash and let them go freely within the 25 ...
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Australian resident libels UK resident
Can a UK Resident sue an Australian Resident for Libel or Defamation, as in Australia, If the sender of emails had lived in the UK?
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Onlyfans account leaked to my family [duplicate]
I have an OnlyFans account which for obvious reasons I kept secret from everyone. But somehow someone has leaked its content (perhaps a friend or an ex-partner who wanted to take a revenge on me). He/...
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Can hypothesis-publishing make one liable for defamation?
It is understandable that if Bob says "Rob murdered Alice", Bob will be liable for defamation unless he can prove that Rob indeed murdered Alice on the preponderance of evidence (this is ...
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defaming an anonymous person
Suppose there is someone only known by an avatar. Suppose no public information is available as to who is the real person behind the avatar.
My question is whether there is any case-law about whether ...
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Is it ever illegal to spread true facts with malicious intent?
Crimes such as defamation usually require that the statement being said is false - truth is an absolute defense.
Are there any situations or jurisdictions where truth is not a defense against ...
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In the Dominion lawsuit at what point does a statement implying, but not explicitly stating, fraud occurred rise to the level of defamation?
It seems the primary defense Fox News' lawyers are making in the Dominion defamation lawsuit seems to be that Fox was only sharing alleged allegations and expressing opinion, but they never explicitly ...
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Is it legal to publish a cease and desist letter that I have received?
I've received a cease and desist letter for defamation from a local businessperson that I believe to be without legal basis - the actionable statements listed are clearly statements of my opinion. ...
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Can AI-generated text be considered defamation?
This question is inspired by recent news about some of the strange, out-of-control behavior from Microsoft's new Bing chat AI, but I am asking hypothetically here.
If an AI chatbot such as Bing Chat ...
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Is evidence of rumours of a defendant's racism unhelpful in a defamation case involving accusations of cheating?
Defendant accuses Plaintiff of cheating in a competition. Plaintiff sues Defendant for defamation.
Plaintiff has heard rumours that Defendant is racist. Assuming these could be substantiated in some ...
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Can private text messages be considered defamation in Canada? [closed]
I've had long chats via text messages with a friend, where I accused other people of sexually assaulting me (which was true, but I have no way of proving it really...), and mocking other people with ...
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Would it be / have been unhelpful for Hans Niemann to bring up Magnus Carlsen's own cheating?
This is about the Carlsen–Niemann controversy asked about previously:
Why don't courts punish time-wasting tactics?
How can Magnus Carlsen, a Norwegian, be sued for defamation by Hans Niemann in ...
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What can be considered a "reasonable excuse" when mistakenly breaching a court order? [closed]
Is it too subjective to think the serious allegations made in the order had being taken out of any possible and plausible context, twisting it in such way so they could paint a really bad picture ...
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In a defamation case, can the defendant not prove statement to be true and still win the case?
A male celebrity has said to a tabloid newspaper he slept with a female celebrity when they worked in a production few years ago. The female celeb is now suing him for defamation as she says that this ...
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Can you defame a profession?
Suppose someone publishes the statement "All lawyers are thieves." Obviously, this is not true; there most likely are some lawyers who are also thieves, but certainly not all. Would it be ...
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Can a true statement be defamatory?
Can a true statement be "defamatory"? I know that truth is a defence to a defamation action, in that no liability will generally result if what you have communicated is true, but is it ...
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