In the age of information and social media, many people have been involved in defamatory actions simply because posting and receiving information has become so easy to do. It is because of this phenomenon that defamation cases are now more common than they were before. Of course, one may ask how these cases are handled and how they are proven.
Now, do note that there are two types of defamatory action being slander and libel. For slander, these are the cases wherein the defamatory action was spoken such as a lie that was spread in the office or through a public speech. The other type is known as libel and it involves writing a piece that is intended to destroy the reputation of a person.
Another very important thing to consider would be the fact of the presence of free speech. The case has to strike a middle path between what is simply just an opinion that comes with freedom of speech. In any case, the main factor that would separate the two would be the malicious intent to discredit a person.
Now, the first criterion that has to be proven would be the statement of the defamer. The statement that the defamer made has to be proven false. Due to that, the victim must have had experienced injurious repercussions due to the actions of the defamer.
Now, when the victim makes the statement, he or she has to claim that the defamatory action was spoken, written, or even pictured. It also has to be published meaning that a third person saw it or heard it. It does not necessarily have to be on social media or written on a paper but rather, it is considered published if a third party experienced it.
Now, when one would say injurious, this could mean a number of things but in general, it means the victim will lose something. This could be a new promotion in the office, getting shunned by the neighbors, or even getting fired from a job because there was a bad rumor that went around. The next thing that needs to be proven would be the intent of malice.
In order to prove that there was an act of malice, the victim has to prove that the statement was not true but the perpetrator did not care to verify whether it was true. Also, the victim will also prove that the perpetrator was reckless and did not bother fact checking for the truth. As long as all of these are present, then the case is solid.
While this sort of civil crime is a little bit delicate to touch because of the presence of freedom of speech, there are many ways to know how to handle the defamatory cases. In general, the best ways to do that would be to prove the case with the criteria that was mentioned above. The next thing to do would be to check for malicious intention which can be determined through the definition that was mentioned above and applying it to the case.
Now, do note that there are two types of defamatory action being slander and libel. For slander, these are the cases wherein the defamatory action was spoken such as a lie that was spread in the office or through a public speech. The other type is known as libel and it involves writing a piece that is intended to destroy the reputation of a person.
Another very important thing to consider would be the fact of the presence of free speech. The case has to strike a middle path between what is simply just an opinion that comes with freedom of speech. In any case, the main factor that would separate the two would be the malicious intent to discredit a person.
Now, the first criterion that has to be proven would be the statement of the defamer. The statement that the defamer made has to be proven false. Due to that, the victim must have had experienced injurious repercussions due to the actions of the defamer.
Now, when the victim makes the statement, he or she has to claim that the defamatory action was spoken, written, or even pictured. It also has to be published meaning that a third person saw it or heard it. It does not necessarily have to be on social media or written on a paper but rather, it is considered published if a third party experienced it.
Now, when one would say injurious, this could mean a number of things but in general, it means the victim will lose something. This could be a new promotion in the office, getting shunned by the neighbors, or even getting fired from a job because there was a bad rumor that went around. The next thing that needs to be proven would be the intent of malice.
In order to prove that there was an act of malice, the victim has to prove that the statement was not true but the perpetrator did not care to verify whether it was true. Also, the victim will also prove that the perpetrator was reckless and did not bother fact checking for the truth. As long as all of these are present, then the case is solid.
While this sort of civil crime is a little bit delicate to touch because of the presence of freedom of speech, there are many ways to know how to handle the defamatory cases. In general, the best ways to do that would be to prove the case with the criteria that was mentioned above. The next thing to do would be to check for malicious intention which can be determined through the definition that was mentioned above and applying it to the case.
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