Social Media Allows Online Defamantion To Spread Faster And Farther

• Published date: 10 August 2022
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Libel & Defamation, Social Media
• Law Firm: Giambrone & Partners
• Author: Mr Khizar Arif

Currently, social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are powerful online platforms where anyone can 'tweet', 'post', 'share' any kind of material. The platforms are largely self-governing, having initially taken the view that they had no responsibility for the nature of the posts their users chose to post. However, somewhat reluctantly social media platforms have introduced Codes of Conduct to limit the comments that those posting can make, with the ultimate sanction of withdrawing their account. However, blog posts, online comments or tweets, and even Google reviews can also become very dangerous for someone's reputation and lead to irreparable consequences.

Khizar Arif, a partner, commented "the law of defamation protects a person's reputation against unjustified interference. Defamation is the oral or written communication of an untrue statement to one or more third parties which causes or is likely to cause significant damage to a person's or an organisation's reputation. Internet defamation refers to defamation in an online context. Publication means that the defamatory statement is communicated to at least another person. Finally, it is important to prove serious harm to reputation, generally showing some financial loss, distress or humiliation."

This is visibly demonstrated by the recently concluded vitriolic Instagram libel case between Rebekah Vardy v Colleen Rooney, dubbed by the media as the 'Wagatha Christie' case. The dispute between the British footballers' wives Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy resulted in Rebekah Vardy deciding to sue Ms. Rooney, believing she had been defamed by Coleen Rooney due to the suggestion that she (Ms. Vardy) had leaked personal information about Ms. Rooney and her family from a Twitter account that Ms. Rooney set up to try and establish who was leaking stories to the press. The case against Ms. Rooney rapidly began to weaken and eventually, Ms. Vardy was found to have been the source of the leaks as Ms. Rooney suggested.

Similarly, the even more sensational case involving Johnny Depp v Amber Heard, which hinged on the publication and re-publication of an article where Amber Heard suggested she was a victim of domestic violence without naming her alleged abuser. Johnny Depp suffered considerable financial loss due to his former wife's allegations that were found to be baseless.

Sharing of sensational information or allegations without any fact-checking on social media can attract huge attention and can...