A form of publication which tends to cause one to lose the esteem of the community is defamation. This is injury to reputation. A person can be held liable for the defamation of another. In order to prove defamation, the plaintiff must prove:
- that a statement was made about the plaintiff's reputation, honesty or integrity that is not true;
- publication to a third party (i.e., another person hears or reads the statement); and
- the plaintiff suffers damages as a result of the statement.
Slander is a form of defamation that consists of making false oral statements about a person which would damage that person's reputation. If one spreads a rumor that his neighbor has been in jail and this is not true, the person making such false statements could be held liable for slander.
Defamation which occurs by written statements is known as libel. Libel also may result from a picture or visual representation. Truth is an absolute defense to slander or libel.
Some statements, while libelous or slanderous, are absolutely privileged in the sense that the statements can be made without fear of a lawsuit for slander. The best example is statements made in a court of law. An untrue statement made about a person in court which damages that person's reputation will generally not cause liability to the speaker as far as slander is concerned. However, if the statement is untrue, the person making it may be liable for criminal perjury.
If a communication is made in good faith on a subject in which the party communicating it has a legitimate right or interest in communicating it, this communication may be exempt from slander liability due to a qualified privileged.
The following form letter demands that someone cease making libelous or slanderous statements, or appropriate legal action will be taken.
Slander And Libel On Facebook Without A Lawyer In Massachusetts
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If you're confident that you are indeed dealing with an instance of online defamation, there are several steps you can take to remedy the situation. Do Nothing. Collect Evidence. Get a Lawyer. Send a Cease and Desist Letter. Publish Your Own Statement. Sue for Defamation.
You can complain to Facebook about the defamatory statements, for all the good it might do. Otherwise, if you can prove that the business knows the statements to be false and is making them with malice (Ie the intent to materially damage you), that's libel and you have some legal remedies available to you.
The answer is yes, but you have to meet each of the four legal elements that define defamation of character. Your lawyer also has to present convincing evidence not only that the defendant made defamatory statements on Facebook but also that the statement has damaged your personal and/or professional reputation.
The short answer is yes, you can sue them if they are making public statements about you that they know to be false and those statements are as you have described them. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily quick or cheap to win this type of case.
The terms libel and slander — written or spoken lies about a person, group, or business — both fall under the category of defamation. Sometimes defamation is even a punishable crime, and in every instance it's unkind and malicious.
Libel is an untrue defamatory statement that is made in writing. Slander is an untrue defamatory statement that is spoken orally. The difference between defamation and slander is that a defamatory statement can be made in any medium. It could be in a blog comment or spoken in a speech or said on television.
Libel and slander are both types of defamation. Libel is an untrue defamatory statement that is made in writing. Slander is an untrue defamatory statement that is spoken orally.
Massachusetts defamation law defines defamation as a term for a legal claim arising from harm to a person's reputation, which is caused by a false statement of fact communicated to a third-party without privilege. Defamation includes both libel (written defamation) and slander (spoken defamation).
Social media defamation can take various forms, including: Text Posts: False statements made in posts or comments. Images and Videos: Defamatory content can be conveyed through manipulated images or videos. Reviews and Ratings: False negative reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, or Facebook.
Cease and Desist Defamation Letter: Sent to individuals or entities spreading false statements or engaging in defamation (slander or libel). It demands the retraction of false statements and cessation of further defamation.
