Celebrity defamation is a growing trend. Don’t believe me? Click on any of the links below.
There are a number of reasons for this.
The Rise of Social Media
No one can deny the awesome rise of social media and its ability to influence our culture. Millions of people use tools like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn every day to consume and share information and as a means of interacting with other like-minded people.
It is also an incredible information delivery system. That delivery system allows celebrities to communicate with their fans (to influence them) without resort to traditional media, which gives celebrities new found power.
The Immediacy of The Internet
Everyone knows the Internet allows for instantaneous transmission of information. But people forget that publication of information on the Internet is permanent and potentially far-reaching.
The Fiction of Invincibility
People feel invincible on the Internet. They write and post information they would never say in public. They also act in ways they would never do so in public.
I know this is hard to believe, but take a look at Twitter. How often have you seen someone tweet about their exact location; especially celebrities (I’ve been guilty of this myself). Well, shouldn’t people be worried about disclosing their location to others? This is both a privacy and personal safety issue. Yet people tweet freely about where they are.
The Public Relations Bump
"There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary." – Brendan Behan
Celebrities believe that all publicity is good. Is it good for business to start a fight with another celebrity on Twitter? You betcha.
The next post in this series will examine whether different rules apply to celebrities with respect to internet defamation.
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I know that it is not permitted for one person to sue for defamation on behalf of another individual because a reputation is a private and individual matter but this question came up in my UGA law class and I am curious to know what you think:
Can an individual sue for defamation based on what is said about their alias? Example: Miley Cirus sues for defamation on behalf of Hannah Montanna or Sacha Baron sues for published material concerning Borat…etc when it is clear to the public that the alias represents some person?