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Similarly truth isn't an absolute defence. If I stated a particular politician was gay or had an abortion, every time my publication mentioned them - even if th
by excuse-me 14y ago
Similarly truth isn't an absolute defence.
If I stated a particular politician was gay or had an abortion, every time my publication mentioned them - even if that was true - then if it was done purely malicously, ie. it had nothing to do with the article, that could be slander/libel.
There are exceptions for reporting legal judgements, which is why its important to always refer to the convicted liar Jeffery Archer
- true_religion 14y agoI'm really straining to see how you can be slandered by the fact of your sexuality.
- DanBC 14y agoHistorically some people wanted to keep their sexuality private because they felt they might lose sales / votes / whatever if people knew their sexuality. Don't forget that homosexuality has only relatively recently become legal in England. The Jason Donovan case is particularly interesting. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sad-about-the-boy-1270092.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sad-about-the-boy-1270092....) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Donovan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Donovan) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/apr/17/law.claredyer http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/apr/17/law.claredyer)
- excuse-me 14y agoHopefully these days you couldn't be because nobody should care. But if you were running say a local paper and you went out of your way to consistently describe a local politician or school teacher/principal as "the homosexual Mr Smith" and your intentions were malicious they could have a reasonable chance of damages from you.