3 ms·

So in the US it's easier to make unfounded allegations and ruin somebody's life, and it's on them to prove you knew you were lying?

• ceejayoz 3y ago
  Both Weinstein and Cosby provide good examples of where hard evidence was extraordinarily difficult to come by. Much of the evidentiary value comes from the large volume of credible (time, place, access, similar stories, etc.) accusations; those accusations largely required an initial few to be brave enough to come out with their stories for the rest to come forward. The UK's setup permits such abusers to prevent press coverage of these initial victims, and to significantly chill the climate for subsequent accusers. Both setups have their upsides and downsides, but I'm less a fan of the one that lets serial predators evolve their strategies to be more and more immune from consequence.
• dragonwriter 3y ago
  In the UK, you can be held liable for stating a reasonable conclusion based on the facts available to you after reasonable investigation that turns out to be (viewed by a court as) false, while in the US there must in any defamation case be some degree of fault as well as falsity.