Any point pursuing someone for defamation?
Discussion
I'm spectating on something on FB, and the situation developing got me thinking.
What do you do if you're repeatedly accused in writing on a public forum of something which the accuser has accepted is something he is unable to prove, has not even remotely provided evidence to substantiate despite being repeatedly asked to, and also refuses to apologise for. As a normal, not famous guy, is there realistically any recourse?
Let's treat it as hypothetical. Nothing will likely come of it, but the situation got me thinking how much a person should consider acceptable before initiating a reaction, if that option actually realistically exists to the man in the street. I understand that someone famous or in the public eye has something tangible to lose potentially. However, should it be taken less seriously if the same accusation is made against someone who is not a public figure? No material loss has been suffered nor is it likely to, my instinct is that would be the only consideration taken into account should the situation escalate.
What do you do if you're repeatedly accused in writing on a public forum of something which the accuser has accepted is something he is unable to prove, has not even remotely provided evidence to substantiate despite being repeatedly asked to, and also refuses to apologise for. As a normal, not famous guy, is there realistically any recourse?
Let's treat it as hypothetical. Nothing will likely come of it, but the situation got me thinking how much a person should consider acceptable before initiating a reaction, if that option actually realistically exists to the man in the street. I understand that someone famous or in the public eye has something tangible to lose potentially. However, should it be taken less seriously if the same accusation is made against someone who is not a public figure? No material loss has been suffered nor is it likely to, my instinct is that would be the only consideration taken into account should the situation escalate.
I'm going to lob Section 179 (1) of the Online Safety Act 2023 into the mix...
There was a neighbour writing on the local neighbour platform about the dangerous condition of a wall fronting my property, it was a complete fabrication, but he managed to get the local council to come out and look at it, when i approached the council representative he confirmed the inaccuracy of the complaint.
With the above i contacted the platform and pointed this out as untrue and that i regarded it as harassment, they confirmed that they informed the neighbour that any further comments as previous and he would be banned from the site.
Lo and behold he made comments again, i informed the platform of this and they promptly banned him from the social platform, i put on the platform the action that had been taken and why so all the "local" users were aware of it. It really put the neighbours nose out and riled him considerably.
With the above i contacted the platform and pointed this out as untrue and that i regarded it as harassment, they confirmed that they informed the neighbour that any further comments as previous and he would be banned from the site.
Lo and behold he made comments again, i informed the platform of this and they promptly banned him from the social platform, i put on the platform the action that had been taken and why so all the "local" users were aware of it. It really put the neighbours nose out and riled him considerably.
Heaveho said:
Evil.soup said:
I think much would also hinge on the type of accusation, if someone is consistently being wrongly accused of something innocuous, then it is kind of irrelevant. If it is something linked to an offence then it is a different ball game I would have thought.
Racism.For false accusations of racism on social media, a non-public figure has limited options. While platform reporting mechanisms exist, they're often ineffective. Legal recourse through cease and desist letters or defamation suits is theoretically possible but practically challenging without demonstrable harm to reputation or livelihood. Courts typically require evidence of actual damages for non-public figures, making cases difficult without tangible losses. Most people ultimately choose practical solutions like blocking the accuser, adjusting privacy settings, or temporarily disengaging from the platform, as these require less emotional and financial investment than pursuing legal action.
A letter from a solicitor makes things very real. Years ago I had someone (who I'd never actually had any dealings with) bad mouth my business on a forum. Let's just say he won't be doing that again.
Actually going to court is potentially risky and very very expensive but a letter just reminding someone of the law of the land can be very useful.
Writing things down on a public forum is the same as a newspaper publishing something. You need to be damn sure you're right or you could end up in a world of pain. If you slag a business off chances are they have the deep pockets to protect their reputation.
I remember a few years ago we had a really bad incident on the local FB group where this guy accused Mr XYZ of abusing him when he was younger. Mr XYZ was an older man and lots of locals came out in support of him. It was quite a while ago now before automatic moderation would have shut the thread down so it ran on for ages. The long and short of it is that somehow the accuser had got his facts wrong and it was a genuine case of mistaken identity. Police became involved but luckily for the accuser Mr XYZ didn't want to press charges but can you imagine the ramifications of that accuser had been sued? He would have lost his bloody house! The accuser wasn't some crazy guy I vaguely knew him he was just a normal guy with a couple of kids and married etc. I think he was very lucky in this situation.
Actually going to court is potentially risky and very very expensive but a letter just reminding someone of the law of the land can be very useful.
Writing things down on a public forum is the same as a newspaper publishing something. You need to be damn sure you're right or you could end up in a world of pain. If you slag a business off chances are they have the deep pockets to protect their reputation.
I remember a few years ago we had a really bad incident on the local FB group where this guy accused Mr XYZ of abusing him when he was younger. Mr XYZ was an older man and lots of locals came out in support of him. It was quite a while ago now before automatic moderation would have shut the thread down so it ran on for ages. The long and short of it is that somehow the accuser had got his facts wrong and it was a genuine case of mistaken identity. Police became involved but luckily for the accuser Mr XYZ didn't want to press charges but can you imagine the ramifications of that accuser had been sued? He would have lost his bloody house! The accuser wasn't some crazy guy I vaguely knew him he was just a normal guy with a couple of kids and married etc. I think he was very lucky in this situation.
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