Columbia (WACH)—Its been the mantra of Fraser Crane types for years. “Let it out, don’t bottle up the anger.” Twitter therapy, however, is signaling lawsuits resulting in thousands of dollars all over 140 characters or less.
Wikipedia defines defamation as words “written, broadcast or published…that creates a negative image.” This criteria has begun to be applied to social media, including Twitter and Facebook. According to All Twitter, record executive Ira DeWitt is suing artist Johnny Gill for comments he made on Twitter. Gill is alleged to have “attacked the reputation” of DeWitt by tweeting, among other things, that she was deranged. Although this case has yet to go in front of the court, this is not the first such case revolving around a Twitter rant.
Singer Courtney Love settled out of court for $430,000 after she unleashed a series unkind tweets about a fashion designer she was in a debate with. Love’s legal team simply said she was expressing opinion, however, the plaintiff’s claimed that due to Love’s celebrity status, she had more influence over her followers, resulting in character damage.
In another case, an AP reporter was sued by an NBA referee after tweeting observations about a game he was watching. In this case, the referee said the tweet resulted in a disciplinary investigation by the NBA.
Similar cases have been filed with bring up the question of opinion verses fact, or lack there of. When does freedom of speech become infringed? As they say, “It’s all fun and games until the lawyers show up.”
We want to know what you think. Is a tweet or a Facebook post a broadcast? When does the line get crossed? Does this mean you shouldn’t share an opinion for fear or a potential lawsuit?
Leave a comment here, or on our Facebook page, and get into the debate!
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