Are Journalists Protected From Defamation? In most situations, responsible news reporters are protected from liability for libel or slander claims. There are several defenses that a news reporter generally has when s/he is sued for libel or slander, including truth, opinion, neutrality, and more. Can a newspaper be sued for defamation? In general, statements of
Can Someone Sue You If You Write A Song About Them? If you meet the requirements for a civil action, you can sue someone for defamation, whether libel or slander, if they have written or said something bad about you. However, you must be able to prove the necessary elements of a defamation suit if
What Are The Rules For Historical Fiction? Don’t invent history. … Try to be fair. … You can leave doubt about what happened. … Keep the chronology as accurate as possible. … You can leave things out. … Complete historical truth is unknowable. … How to test if you’ve done a decent job? Can you
What A Biography Should Not Include? Lying: A bio should never include fabricated accomplishments, awards, titles or positions. Besides the obvious moral issue, false claims are easy to disprove in the digital age and the potential fallout from getting caught in a lie far outweighs any benefits of exaggerating one’s achievements. Is it legal to
Can You Post Someone’s Picture On Facebook Without Their Permission? Any photos you’ve taken in public — which is considered any place where people have no reasonable expectation of privacy — can be uploaded to Facebook without getting permission first. Not needing permission, however, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for permission first. What if someone
What Are The Consequences Of Making A False Police Report? Penal Code 148.5 PC is the California statute that makes it illegal to make a false police report of a crime. The report could be of a misdemeanor or a felony offense. False reporting is only a crime if the person making the report knows
Can I Sue Someone For Wasting My Time? The answer is generally no – you can’t sue for wasted time in most instances. Can you sue someone for wrongfully suing you? When a person is falsely accused of a crime and criminal charges are filed as a result, there is a lot of harm that
Can You Base A Character On A Real Person? Can writers model characters after real people and name names without getting sued? Yes, they can, with some common sense limitations. Over the next three posts I will talk about the legal risks of using real people in your writing; namely defamation, invasion of privacy, and
Why Is The Grapes Of Wrath A Banned Book? In fact, in many communities The Grapes of Wrath was banned and burned, both for its occasional obscene language and its general themes. Why did people want to ban the Grapes of Wrath? When it was first published in 1939, businessmen, farmers, teachers, and parents raised
Can I Write A Fictional Story About A Real Person? The defamed person need not be identified by name. The writer need only use enough identifying information in creating the fictional character so that the real person is identifiable to readers. The real person must be living to sue for defamation (the dead cannot suffer