Defamation is when someone makes untrue statements about another party, and these statements cause significant harm. There are two general types, known as slander and libel. Libel is used for written statements, while slander is used for spoken statements. Either way, they are disparaging statements made at another person’s expense.
It may be possible for defamation to occur on social media. After all, many social media profiles have hundreds or thousands of followers, and there’s a potential audience of millions of people using the social media platform. This means that the potential for damage to a person’s reputation is very high and widespread.
How could this occur?
For example, say that you are shopping at a local store when you get stopped by security. You know that you didn’t do anything wrong, but they accuse you of shoplifting.
When you go home, you see that the store owner posted your picture, your name and other identifying information on their social media profile. They also wrote a message proclaiming that you are a shoplifter who has broken the law and warning other store owners to be on the lookout for you.
Eventually, the case goes to court, and the charges are dropped because you are not a shoplifter and there’s no evidence against you. If so, you may be able to take legal action against the store owner for defaming you and proclaiming your guilt when you were never guilty to begin with. They have harmed your reputation in the local community, and you may be worried about that information getting back to family members, prospective employers and others.
This is just one example of how defamation can occur on social media, but be sure you know about all of your legal options if it happens to you.