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Question about Libel...

Mithrandir

By Mithrandir,
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Mithrandir

Mithrandir

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Someone posted a Facebook comment that said the Mayor-elect of my town and another guy were gay lovers. Is that a form of libel? Could they sue the poster over the comment?

 

I'd bet you're, err, your friend is safe.

Hahaha.. not me...but I am friends with the guy.

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blueschica

blueschica

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Short answer from internets- Yes, but you may have to prove damages. But you know, least said, soonest mended. Surely your friend didn't get to be mayor elect without being able to ignore random bizarre insults. Tell them to ignore it. Who believes those weird social media rumors anyway (unless it's me about the Lee Lifeson project).

 

https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=36205

 

http://injury.findlaw.com/torts-and-personal-injuries/defamation-and-social-media--what-you-need-to-know.html

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Mithrandir

Mithrandir

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Short answer from internets- Yes, but you may have to prove damages. But you know, least said, soonest mended. Surely your friend didn't get to be mayor elect without being able to ignore random bizarre insults. Tell them to ignore it. Who believes those weird social media rumors anyway (unless it's me about the Lee Lifeson project).

 

https://www.hg.org/a....asp?id=36205

 

http://injury.findla...ed-to-know.html

I guess I just like to see assholes pay the price for their bullshit. And in a town where the majority of the voters are Senior citizens who just might harbor homophobic feelings it could cost him in the general election.

 

If this was your son or family member I guess you would be ok with it? Sorry but your type of attitude is almost as bad as the morons who spew this shit. "Oh just let it go..teehee"...

Edited by Mithrandir
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Boots

Boots

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I studied law at a technical institute for 3 years, but I'm not qualified to give advice because I'm not a lawyer. I don't know American law. I think LABT is a lawyer. If the statement is true, it isn't libel. If untrue, you could be sued for defamation of character.
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Your_Lion

Your_Lion

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Every response has been useless.

We're not a law firm. This is a Rush forum.

http://www.therushlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/TrippRush_Logo_Horiz-LargeCrest-768x768.png
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Lorraine

Lorraine

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Every response has been useless.

We're not a law firm. This is a Rush forum.

http://www.therushlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/TrippRush_Logo_Horiz-LargeCrest-768x768.png

 

Let's dust off our shingle. :codger: Then you grab your legal pad and sharpen your pencil and meet us in the conference room. :D-13:

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blueschica

blueschica

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Posted (edited)

Short answer from internets- Yes, but you may have to prove damages. But you know, least said, soonest mended. Surely your friend didn't get to be mayor elect without being able to ignore random bizarre insults. Tell them to ignore it. Who believes those weird social media rumors anyway (unless it's me about the Lee Lifeson project).

 

https://www.hg.org/a....asp?id=36205

 

http://injury.findla...ed-to-know.html

I guess I just like to see assholes pay the price for their bullshit. And in a town where the majority of the voters are Senior citizens who just might harbor homophobic feelings it could cost him in the general election.

 

If this was your son or family member I guess you would be ok with it? Sorry but your type of attitude is almost as bad as the morons who spew this shit. "Oh just let it go..teehee"...

 

I'm sorry that my advice doesn't seem to apply; as with most things I write on this board you are free to use or not use the parts that might be helpful.

 

I was just responding in a general manner to what you described in very general terms. Since the friend you are talking about is/was running for elected office I was assuming they are 1) an adult and 2) knowing that they will have to put up with some opposition in their run for office.

 

I wasn't saying "teehee" let it go, I was recommending, "don't waste precious campaign energy responding to jerks." This has happened a few times in school board, mayor, zoning board races etc. around here and suddenly everyone is all over the person's entire internet life (both insulter and responder) and has taken screen shots of everything before they can take it down. Not everyone can withstand that. Of course if your friend was a student or teen being cyber bullied it would be different. I hope the rest of your friend's campaign goes OK for them.

Edited by blueschica
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EagleMoon

EagleMoon

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Short answer from internets- Yes, but you may have to prove damages. But you know, least said, soonest mended. Surely your friend didn't get to be mayor elect without being able to ignore random bizarre insults. Tell them to ignore it. Who believes those weird social media rumors anyway (unless it's me about the Lee Lifeson project).

 

https://www.hg.org/a....asp?id=36205

 

http://injury.findla...ed-to-know.html

I guess I just like to see assholes pay the price for their bullshit. And in a town where the majority of the voters are Senior citizens who just might harbor homophobic feelings it could cost him in the general election.

 

If this was your son or family member I guess you would be ok with it? Sorry but your type of attitude is almost as bad as the morons who spew this shit. "Oh just let it go..teehee"...

 

I'm sorry that my advice doesn't seem to apply; as with most things I write on this board you are free to use or not use the parts that might be helpful.

 

I was just responding in a general manner to what you described in very general terms. Since the friend you are talking about is/was running for elected office I was assuming they are 1) an adult and 2) knowing that they will have to put up with some opposition in their run for office.

 

I wasn't saying "teehee" let it go, I was recommending, "don't waste precious campaign energy responding to jerks." This has happened a few times in school board, mayor, zoning board races etc. around here and suddenly everyone is all over the person's entire internet life (both insulter and responder) and has taken screen shots of everything before they can take it down. Not everyone can withstand that. Of course if your friend was a student or teen being cyber bullied it would be different. I hope the rest of your friend's campaign goes OK for them.

 

I agree. Responding to it just draws attention to it. Better to just ignore and move on.

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Principled Man

Principled Man

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Someone posted a Facebook comment that said the Mayor-elect of my town and another guy were gay lovers. Is that a form of libel? Could they sue the poster over the comment?

 

If the statement is false, if the Facebook troll showed malice of intent, and if it caused real harm to the mayor-elect's reputation, career or family life, then it would constitute libel, in my opinion. Taking the troll to court would be a challenge, as the mayor-elect would have to prove all three criteria - false statement, malice of intent and harm caused.

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