8-2 Application Assignment Blogs and Defamation
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Southern New Hampshire University *
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Feb 20, 2024
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8-2 Application Assignment: Blogs and Defamation
8-2 Application Assignment: Blogs and Defamation
Southern New Hampshire University
Dr. Derek Holbert
November 11, 2023
If you are the subject of defamatory and/or offensive allegations on the Internet, you certainly have the ability and right to have such content removed. However, there are some steps 1
8-2 Application Assignment: Blogs and Defamation
you need to take to achieve your goal. Of course, the first step is to decide exactly what your goal is. Once you've decided what you want to do, you'll need to do your best to identify the offending blogger. Next, you need to familiarize yourself with the blog service provider's terms and conditions. Finally, you will gather all relevant evidence to challenge the defamatory content. Once you have enough information for your case then you are ready to proceed.
When you decide what your goal is, you are also deciding how long or difficult your battle will be. If you simply want the content removed, your legal battle will be significantly shorter than if you also want to sue the at-fault party for damages. Both courses of action need some type of evidence that the content you are objecting to is defamatory; The difference in time
and effort is determined by the fact that suing for damages not only costs you more money, but also costs you more time in court.
Now that you have decided how you want to move forward, you need to identify the blogger. It can be difficult if the blogger voluntarily remains anonymous but is not completely impossible. Start simply by tracking all the contact information available on the blog:
email addresses, location information, links to other social media, etc. If the information is available, try to determine the IP address of a user. However, you need to be careful here, as too much digging can cause you to exceed the limit and commit an invasion of privacy.
Once you have truth the state, you should familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of the service the blogger uses. Each service will have a different set of terms and conditions, but most, if not all, will include a reference to how to remove offensive content. Your
plan of action here may be as simple as clicking the "Flag for removal" icon on offending blog posts, but this issue may include creating content with a blog service provider. If your service provider offers procedures for removing defamatory content, it is best to follow their 2
8-2 Application Assignment: Blogs and Defamation
instructions. Unfortunately, many websites don't want to get too involved in these types of legal battles and don't want to be put in the position of having to decide whether one of their client's contents contains false claims. Truth or not. “In fact, many of the more sophisticated websites actually state this in their terms, noting they may, however, defer to the court’s judgments” (Gibson& Cohen 2015) If the service provider doesn’t publish a course of action in their terms and conditions, or otherwise will require you to obtain a court judgment, then you will need to refer to your state’s legal processes for handling a defamation lawsuit.
If you have decided that your sole goal is to remove the content, then you only need to prove that the content is false or defamatory. There are two types of defamation, which are slander and libel. Slander is a false statement made through spoken words (for example, giving a defamatory speech) (Hughes et al., 2021). The other, libel is a written or published false statement (Hughes et al.,2021). It is tricky, because someone's opinion of your character is not considered defamation in the legal sense: the offender must make a complaint about your actions
for you to have any rights or legal resources. For example, the statement “John is a bad person” is not legally defamatory, but the statement “John is a bad person because he burned down his mother's house” is certainly defamatory because it Makes a clear statement about your actions. Once you've determined what claims you're fighting against, it's time to set up evidence that refutes those claims. If the blogger says you burned down your mother's house, provide proof that you never did it. With the evidence you have collected, you can provide it to the service provider (if they have an established strategy to remove the content and request this evidence) or provide it to a court for review before deciding whether the content is unlawful and defamatory.
If you've decided that your goal is not simply to remove the content violators can also be
sued for money., then, you still have some work to do. Suing for damages means that you are 3
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8-2 Application Assignment: Blogs and Defamation
suing the defendant because you believe their blog caused you loss (usually financial loss). This eventuality could be in the form of lost wages, turned down for work or other employment opportunities, or some other quantifiable loss to you in lives. If this item is your course of action you have chosen, you must not only prove that the blog content is defamatory, but you must also prove that the content directly resulted in losses on your part. For example, if the blog's content prevented you from getting a job offer, you should receive a statement from that employer stating that the blog's content had a direct impact on their hiring decision
References
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8-2 Application Assignment: Blogs and Defamation
Gibson, W. C., & Cohen, J. S. (2015, April 23). How to remove a defamatory blog post or site. Lexology. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=53e9a2b6-b4fe-4af7-afd4-46d40e4e638d
Hughes, M., By:, Paralegal, M. H., Legal review by: Aaron Minc Attorney & Founder of Minc Law, by:, L. review, Aaron Minc Attorney & Founder of Minc Law, 17, D. P. on J., Powell, D., 17, on J., 29, D. H. on S., Horsey, D., 29, on S., 5, M. H. on F., Hughes, M., 5, on F., 14, M. H. on A., & 14, on A. (2021, March 31). How to deal with Social Media Defamation & Libel. Minc Law. https://www.minclaw.com/review-social-
media-defamation-libel/#:~:text=Defamation%20can%20be%20broken%20up,review%20or%20social
%20media%20post
).
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