I’m going to do what DCP does and just copy and paste notes from google. If it’s good enough for a PhD like him, it’s good enough for me:“DCP” wrote: I've known his real-life identity for many years now, but have pretty carefully maintained his anonymity. Given the fact, though, that he often participates in the daily public efforts there to slander and deride me by name -- though he's far and away not the worst in that regard -- I honestly can't see why I should feel obligated, if I respond to him, not to name him.
https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/pers ... egal-line/It's important to understand when gossip and rants can cross the legal line and become "defamation", the legal word for a statement that causes damage to someone's reputation.
Defamation comes in two forms: libel (written) and slander (verbal). In this age of the handheld everything, "written" isn't limited to paper and pen, but can refer to an email, text message, blog post, and even a Tweet (as Courtney Love learned recently).
Whether it's written or verbal, a lawsuit for defamation usually requires the plaintiff -- the subject of a statement -- to show that something spoken or written was also published (heard or read by a third party), false (i.e. not an opinion), and somehow injurious to the plaintiff's reputation. To learn more about these elements of defamation in more detail, see Can I Say That? Defamation Law Made Simple.
So, an opinion that's texted or Twittered, no matter how vulgar or shocking, probably can't be the subject of a defamation lawsuit. You can probably say "Person A is the ugliest, dumbest person I've ever met" and not be liable for defamation, because you're voicing an opinion. But if you say "Person A cheated on her tax return," you're opening the defamation door because you've offered up an accusation that can be disproved.
Especially where gossip is concerned, certain people will have a harder time bringing a successful lawsuit for defamation. That's because people in the public eye -- including celebrities, politicians, and other public figures -- enjoy the lowest form of legal protection against defamation, by virtue of their (sometimes perceived) influence and position in society. People in the public spotlight usually have to show that a defamatory statement was made with reckless disregard for the truth (on top of the other elements mentioned above).
I think it’s worth responding to DCP’s frequent claims that he’s being slandered. It doesn’t seem to me that slander applies here, given the above.