Being an influencer comes with a lot of benefits. Due to the large number of followings that you have on your social media, you are given the opportunities to do brand collaborations, receive sponsorships, monetise your content creation or even start your own business. However, commanding a large number of followers also means that you are always under the scrutiny of public eyes.
As an influencer, you are prone to receiving criticisms from your followers or members of the public in general. You will then have the urge to respond to such criticisms. Another instance is that something happened involving another influencer or a celebrity, and as an influencer you decided to talk about the said issue. If the other party is unhappy with your statement, they may initiate a defamation action against you.
Therefore, in order to avoid from being involved in a defamation suit, this article will help you understand what is defamation so the next time you want to say something online, you know how to phrase your words better.
Types of Defamation?
The most basic thing that you need to know about defamation is that there are two types of defamation. Libel is a defamation in permanent form which is written words, news articles, Facebook posts, Instagram or TikTok captions. Slander is a defamation in temporary form which is spoken words.
Libel is the most common type of defamation nowadays. This is because in this digital age, most of our statements are written online, posted to our followers, or even if it is spoken words, it is recorded and posted on social media making it a permanent form of defamation.
What is a Defamatory Statement?
Now, what makes a statement defamatory? In order for the statement to be considered defamatory, the court will look into whether the words lower the person’s reputation in the society, whether the statement incite hatred or ridicule or cause the person to be shunned or avoided, and whether it disrupt their reputation in their business or profession.
A defamatory statement can be defamatory in its natural and ordinary meaning, for example literally calling someone a liar or a scammer, or, by innuendo such as implying something negative about someone indirectly.
Therefore, when you are making a statement that you wish to post in public or say something in public, make sure you think first; will your statement ruin the other person’s reputation, will it put them to shame, or will the people start avoiding them? If the answer is yes, then it is most likely defamatory.
Reference to the Person Defamed
The next element of defamation that you need to know is the statement must have sufficient reference to the person. This means that the statement directly mentioned the person or if it is not a direct reference, someone who knows the person would be able to conclude that the words are referring to that person.
For example, if you mentioned in a statement that “Mr X is involved in underground drug business” then it is clearly referring to Mr X. But, if the statement is “My ex-business partner is involved in underground drug business” then even if you did not mention his name, people who knows that he was your ex-business partner can make the connection themselves.
Publication of the Defamatory Statement
The last element of defamation is that it must be published to a third party. What this means is that the statement cannot just be between the two of you, it cannot be a direct message or a WhatsApp text. The statement must be published or posted or uploaded so other people can see, hear, or read the statement.
For instance, when someone said horrible lies about you but through private messages between the two of you, it does not fulfill the element of being published to a third party. But if the lies were posted as their Instagram caption, then it fulfills the element because their followers can see it. When it comes to posting in a private account, it is still considered as being published as long as they have even one follower on that account.
What are the Defences?
We have learned about what amounts to defamation so you can tell if someone had defamed you and prevent yourself from defaming someone. Now let us take a look at how you can defend yourself if someone decided to take an action for defamation against you.
Firstly, the most common defence for defamation is the defence of justification. This defence is applicable if you are able to justify the statements that you made. This means that if the alleged defamatory statement is true or substantially true you will be able to successfully raise this defence.
Next is the defence of fair comment. Fair comment is when the statement is in the form of comments for the purpose of public interest. This means you made the statement as an opinion and not presenting the statement as a fact. However, it is important to note that a defence of fair comment will not succeed if there is an element of malice in your statement based on the surrounding circumstances such as you and the person defamed was already in bad terms with each other.
Another defence for defamation is absolute privilege. There are certain statements that will not be considered as defamatory since it is covered by absolute privilege such as; statements made or contained in documents during a judicial proceeding, statements in a Parliamentary proceeding, police reports, and statements given to the police during investigation.
Lastly is the defence of qualified privilege. This is usually applicable when it comes to statement that was made during a press conference for politicians or journalists. It must be a statement made fairly by someone who has the duty to the public. But if made with malice, this defence will not be applicable too.
Conclusion
Based on this article, we hope that you learned a little more about the basics of defamation. It is not just merely a statement made about you or your statement against someone, but there are elements that must be fulfilled to bring a successful defamation case.
Now, if you ever get sued for defamation, you already know what you should prepare in order to defend yourself against the suit. Your readiness will help your case move swiftly because all of your defence materials are ready for your lawyers.
We do wish that you will not encounter any issues moving forward in your career, but things happen unexpectedly sometimes. Therefore, the next time you face any problems on defamation, please don’t be shy to contact us for further advice. We will gladly assist you in solving your problems.
