Defamation is generally defined as a statement that damages the believability, integrity or reputation of a person /company and thereby exposes them to public hatred, contempt or ridicule in a personal or professional context.
What can I do about defamation?
Regardless of whether you have been the victim of defamation or wrongful accusations, you need to understand the law. For a statement, post or article to be considered defamation, the following criteria must generally be met:
Evidence that the statement is false or fabricated. Mind however, that a fact is different from an opinion. A fact can be proven true or false. As a rule, opinions cannot be challenged as defamation.
Evidence that the false statement damages your reputation. To qualify as defamation, a statement not only has to be false, but also cause harm to you or your company’s reputation, etc.
A false and harmful statement must be made without due diligence or investigation into the legitimacy of the statement.
If the person who is the subject of defamation is a celebrity or a civil servant, the plaintiff must also prove “malice”. Maliciousness is proven if the person receiving the information for example published on the Internet or in public, is purposely causing damage and/or ruthlessly disregarding the truth in making statements.
Our detective agency has years of experience in defamation investigations and aiding companies and individuals with complex libel issues. Our unique solutions allow us to respond timely to rapidly evolving cases of defamation and achieve the desired outcome.
Defamation is more than a nuisance. Defamation is a criminal offense!
When the persistence of a slanderer leads to massive personal and professional problems, many of those affected turn to the police. There, however, the obstacle of presenting sufficient and sound evidence necessary to call in the public prosecutor arises. This is seldom simple or easy.
There is often confusion about the differences between public and internet defamation and gossip. In many ways, courts treat defamation online in a similar way to defamation in public. However, there are important differences to be understood about statements made on the internet. Below is a brief overview.
The three most common forms of defamation
Public defamation
A false statement of fact, that tends to damage a person or company’s reputation. This is a collective term for defamation.
Cyber defamation
Blogs which are typically written on a website or form of social media. Most cyber defamation is done by posting a website, comment, bulletin board post, review, rating, or blog post with false claims.
Media defamation
Personal material which is published, for example, through a video, podcast, or audio file.
