Defamation and Media Law

Defamation: What can you say when publishing an article?

Firstly, when we talk of defamation, we are generally talking about a false statement about a person having been made.

Some statements are more harmful to people than others and one should take special care when accusing people of committing a crime, of being professionally incompetent (this could affect their business), being a substance abuser and so on.

If your published article is substantially true, but there are some minor inaccuracies, you should be safe from being sued successfully.

If you are sued for a published article, you have a defense if the statement you have published is true. If you give the person, about whom you are about to publish a story, the opportunity to respond, this could put you on safer ground legally. If possible get consent from the person you are about to publish a story on.

After publishing, if you find you have made a mistake, publish a correction and apology with the same prominence as your original publication.

In some cases the published article in question might be looked on more favourably if the matter you are reporting on is regarded to be of public interest. For example, the person you are reporting on is using public money to bad ends. As a taxpayer, this would be of interest to you.

Where a public figure brings an act for defamation against you that public figure must show that an additional element has come into play – that you acted with malice. Public figures are often criticized, and indeed one might expect robust criticism of public figures.

A person may become a public figure without the intention of being a public figure. Media attention to the person may have brought this person into the public eye, for example.

Always be careful, before publishing, to check your facts.