4 ms·

Invoking the word libel may chill valid and valuable criticism, can you edit your post to say "insult" instead?

• pfdietz 4y ago
  Calling something a con is accusing someone of fraud. Insinuating inaccurately that someone is committing a crime is precisely libel. I will use a word when its meaning is appropriate.
  • Retric 4y ago
    Libel requires saying something you don’t believe is true. I absolutely believe they are a scam based on their statements, thus it’s not Libel.
    • pfdietz 4y ago
      Or, it requires malicious disregard of the truth. Saying something you don't have good evidence of would count, even if you don't know for sure it's false.
      • Retric 4y ago
        That’s about stuff you believe might be true rather than stuff you believe is true. If someone says they came up with a perpetual motion device you can say they didn’t without actually investigating the device in question. If you call someone a pedo because you don’t have any evidence their not a pedo and you don’t like them then that’s malicious disregard for the truth. The bar is very low, you can for example call someone a murder even if they got acquitted at trial.
  • deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]