Defamation is when a person publishes information about another person, group or business that damages their reputation and encourages others to think less of them, while publication essentially refers to the communication of defamatory material to at least one person (other than the person being defamed) and is a crucial element for a defamation claim to be successful. For a statement to be considered defamatory, it must be shared with a third party who understands the defamatory meaning of the statement.
Long gone are the days when only newspapers were considered publishers as anyone can be considered one these days, in line with current defamation laws.
Publication of defamatory material can take many forms including; blogs, news articles, social media posts, poems, songs, photos, videos, emails, comics/cartoons, drawings, online reviews, radio broadcast or spoken words.
In the past, defamation in writing (called “libel”) was distinguished from defamation in speech (called “slander”). In Australia, this distinction no longer exists, and we simply refer to the term defamation.
The Types of Publication Seen in Defamation cases
Defamation law has existed for centuries, dating back to at least 13th century England. Up until relatively recently, defamation cases between regular members of the public mostly involved spoken words. We now see defamation arising out of emails, social media posts, text messages, review sites, news sites, and various other Internet forums. In 2020, Australia had its first defamation case involving a Twitter post containing only emojis (Burrows v Houda [2020] NSWDC 485).
Check out our blog article here on social media real life defamation case examples.
Things to Consider Before Publishing
Before publishing anything, consider the following:
– Are you able to resolve your issue directly with the other person?
– Is your publication truthful and not misleading in any way?
– Can you avoid getting personal and consider how your publication might affect the person on the receiving end?
– And remember: it can still be defamatory if the person is not specifically named but that person could be identified by people who see the publication.
A good rule of thumb we like is to dance like nobody is watching, but text, post and email like it will be read in court one day!
If you need assistance with any defamatory matters, contact our team of defamation law experts here.
