![]() ![]() If the person being defamed is a private citizen and not a celebrity or public figure, defamation can also be proven when the statement was made with negligence as to determining its truth (the person speaking should have known it was false or should have questioned it). The statement must have been made with knowledge that it was untrue or with reckless disregard for the truth (meaning the person who said it questioned the truthfulness but said it anyhow). This way they merely report someone else’s accusation without stating their own opinion.Ī crucial part of a defamation case is that the person makes the false statement with a certain kind of intent. This is why the news media is so careful to use the word “allegedly” when talking about people accused of a crime. If the accusation is untrue, then it will defame her. Saying “I think Cindy stole a car” is still an opinion but implies she committed a crime. Saying, “I think Cindy is annoying” is an opinion and is something that can’t ever really be empirically proven true or false. There is an important difference in defamation law between stating an opinion and defaming someone. Legal difference between opinion and defamation Making the statement only to the person the statement is about (“Tom, you’re a thief”) is not defamation because it does not damage that person’s character in anyone else’s eyes. The person whose reputation has been damaged by the false statement can bring a defamation lawsuit.ĭefamation of character happens when something untrue and damaging is presented as a fact to someone else. An example is “Tom Smith stole money from his employer.” If this is untrue and if making the statement damages Tom’s reputation or ability to work, it is defamation. What is defamation?ĭefamation is a false statement presented as a fact that causes injury or damage to the character of the person it is about. They all fall into the same category of law and have to do with communications that falsely debase someone’s character. ![]() The CBC’s motion to dismiss did not address the merits of WE Charity’s claims but argued that a Canadian court would be the more appropriate forum.Defamation, slander, and libel are terms that frequently confused with each other. The scandal, which forced WE Charity to wind down its Canadian operations, is unrelated to the lawsuit, but the nonprofit alleges it motivated the CBC to “sensationalize” its reporting. WE Charity became a household name in Canada after being embroiled in a 2020 political scandal implicating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who failed to disclose that WE Charity had paid his family speaking fees when his government awarded the nonprofit a major contract.Ĭanada’s ethics commission later cleared Trudeau of any wrongdoing. The nonprofit also alleges in its 230-page complaint that the CBC used fabricated quotes and misleading editing to support its “preconceived narrative.” WE Charity alleges the CBC's hour-long investigative story about it advanced false claims about its finances and projects that were contradicted by the network’s own reporting and information WE Charity provided. “WE Charity's donors and those who rely on its work deserve to see for themselves the evidence that CBC lied about the charity despite knowing the harm those lies would cause,” Kroetsch said. affiliate based in upstate New York, alleged in its February 2022 complaint that the CBC knowingly aired false claims that the nonprofit inflated the number of schoolhouses it had built in Kenya and deceived donors about how their money was being spent, among other things.Ī CBC spokesperson said Wednesday that the network does not comment on pending litigation but “stands by its story and is fully prepared to defend this case.”Ī lawyer for WE Charity, Joseph Kroetsch of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, said in a statement that the ruling was an “an important first win.” ![]() WE Charity, which once operated in Canada but is suing through its U.S. Moss on Tuesday rejected the CBC's bid to dismiss the case on the grounds that a Canadian court would be the more appropriate venue. charity alleging the publicly funded news outlet repeatedly aired false claims that it deceived its donors, a Washington, D.C., federal judge has ruled. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) must face a defamation lawsuit by a U.S. ![]()
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