Defamation laws are complex, and it’s important to understand your rights under these laws, especially if you’re dealing with a defamation case or you are planning to hire a defamation lawyers Sydney. In this article we’ll look at what defamation is, how it applies in Australia and how you can protect yourself from defamation cases.
For the words to be defamatory they must be published or conveyed to at least one person other than the plaintiff.
For the words to be defamatory, they must be published or conveyed to at least one person other than the plaintiff. This means that for you to make a claim for defamation against someone, there must be a third party who will hear or read your words and understand them as being directed at you.
In some cases, defamation is not limited to spoken words. For example, if someone were to write an article about you online and publish it on social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter with your name attached, this could also count as ‘publication’ of defamatory material.
In the case of social media, for example, the defamatory material will be taken to have been published to each of the persons who read it.
Social media is a public forum and therefore, in the case of social media, for example, the defamatory material will be taken to have been published to each of the persons who read it.
Social media posts are permanent records that can’t be deleted or modified once they’re online. The authoring party is responsible for all comments made by anyone who accesses their account and as such they’ll be held accountable if any defamatory content has been posted on their page by someone else.
Social media platforms are communication tools and should be treated as such: if you wouldn’t say something face-to-face or in writing then don’t say it online either!
The publication can be by any form of communication including but not limited to newspapers, radio, television, letters, emails, and press releases.
Defamation is a civil wrong, not a criminal offence. It is an actionable tort under the common law of Australia and can be defamatory per se (meaning that the statement is defamatory on its face) or defamatory per quod (when something other than innuendo applies to make it so).
A slanderous statement is one that is made in speech or in temporary form while a libelous statement is a written or permanent form.
A slanderous statement is one that is made in speech or in temporary form (such as a letter, email or text message). A libelous statement is a written or permanent form.
Slander and libel are both types of defamation, but they are not the same thing. They are different because:
- Libel requires that the offending statement be published to a third party (a person who hasn’t been informed about it by the original speaker/writer) whereas slander does not need such publication to occur.
- Slander can be spoken whereas libel can only be written down or published digitally.
Some statements are too trivial to be considered defamatory because they do not injure the plaintiff’s reputation.
For a statement to be considered defamatory, it must meet the following criteria:
- The statement must be defamatory. In Australia, this means that the statements are capable of damaging someone’s reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.
- The statement must have been published. There must be proof that the words were heard or read by at least one person other than yourself (the plaintiff). It is important to note that publishing something online could still constitute ‘publishing’ if it is accessible by many people (including members of the public), even if there is no intention on your part to publish it.
- The words themselves do not have to cause any harm to your reputation—it’s enough if they could potentially damage your reputation for them to qualify as defamation.
Defamation cases can be tricky.
Defamation cases can be tricky. Defamation is a serious matter and requires expert defamation lawyers Sydney, particularly if you are being sued for defamation. If you are being sued for defamation, then contact a lawyer. Your lawyer will be able to help you defend your case and protect your reputation so that the ruth comes out in court.