24 May 2018
Online Libel And Damage To Reputation
Twitter and other social media platforms are great for posting thoughts and reflections, but they are also a forum for attacking other users and members of the public. The medium of choice for trolls is generally Twitter, and with the number of tweets sent globally now up to 6,000 every second, it is a growing phenomenon.
If you have suffered damage to your reputation as a result of being defamed on Twitter, there are a number of steps you can take to protect your position. The defamation laws apply online as well as offline, and the courts will order offending tweeters to retract their comments and pay compensation. MPs in particular – who suffer a lot of online abuse – are increasingly taking legal action to force defamatory tweeters to publish an apology and pay tens of thousands of pounds in damages.
It does not matter whether someone has launched a deliberate attack on your reputation, or fired off a tweet in anger, or even retweeted a statement made by someone else. If the tweet is read and your reputation has suffered serious damage, then you may be able to pursue a claim for online libel.
I will shortly do a post on what to do if you have been libelled on Twitter.
Notes
For more information on protecting your online reputation, click here.