Zak Hardaker

Libel - What is it, and why should you care?

libel
ˈlʌɪb(ə)l/
noun

1.
LAW
a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

RLFANS.COM operates under the law of England & Wales and as such we are subject to the laws concerning libel (Defamation Act 2013). If libellous statements are made on the site then not only could the writer of the libel be prosecuted, but so could RLFANS.COM, and we obviously want to avoid that by removing libellous, or potentially libellous, comments as soon as they are posted on the site.

So what is defamation?

Under common law, to constitute defamation, a claim must generally be false and must have been made to someone other than the person defamed. Defamation in media such as printed words or images is called libel. Slander relates to spoken words. Message boards are a grey area and courts could treat posts on message boards as slander, like a conversation in a pub.

Anyone can be libelled, not just famous people. It is also possible to libel a company (for example the RFL or a club) although they can only sue if alleged the libel affects them monetarily.

If someone thinks a post about them is either defamatory or damaging the author of the post has to demonstrate that the comments are true in court and RLFANS.COM could be involved as we allowed the comments to be published.

An added complication is that links to defamatory material could also be classed as libellous on our part. You therefore need to check links of you are suspicious that this may be the case.

So is anything derogatory that is written about anyone else libellous?

No. There are many possible defences against libel which include (the ones relevant to us);

Requirement of serious harm: "A statement is not defamatory unless its publication has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of the claimant".

Truth: It is a defence for defamation to show that the statement complained of is substantially true.

Honest opinion or fair comment: It is a defence for defamation, to show the statement complained of was a statement of opinion; that it indicated, in general or specific terms, the basis of the opinion; that an honest person could have held the opinion on any fact which existed when the statement was published, including any fact in a privileged statement that was pre-published.

For examples;

If someone says that they don’t like Club X then it isn’t libellous, if they say that they don’t like Club X because they are all drug cheats then it is.

If someone says that they don’t like referee X then there isn’t a problem, if they say that they don’t like referee X because he takes backhanders from club X then this is libellous.

Public interest: It is a defence to show the statement complained of was, or formed part of, a matter of public interest, and a publication was reasonably believed to be in the public interest.

Points to consider

When writing a post is what you're typing:

• False?
• Misleading?
• Made with the intent to harm someone’s reputation?
• Hearsay (unverified information/rumours which would harm an individual or companies reputation)?

What moderators should if they think something is libellous?

If they are sure that a post is libellous then they will move it to the Trash Can and Message the user to inform them why you have removed their post, and ask them not to repeat their allegations. If they ignore your request then they will remove the repeat message and ban the user from the site.