If there is a body of law that is ripe for reappraisal in light of changing times, it is defamation law. Changes in how news is reported and entertainment is produced have blurred some of the ...traditional legal rules regarding the distinction between actionable fact and nonactionable fiction. At the same time, advances in technology and changes in society have caused some-most notably Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Gorsuch-to question whether the traditional New York Times Co. v. Sullivan standard used in defamation cases should remain good law. Indeed, it is fair to question whether modern defamation law is equipped to deal with a news and entertainment landscape that increasingly blurs the lines between fact and fiction. This Article suggests that courts need to update their approach when dealing with defamation claims stemming from political commentary, parody, works of fiction based on real events, reality TV, and similar publications. In doing so, they might consider looking to one area of popular entertainment that has long blurred the line between reality and fiction: professional wrestling. This Article explores a defamation claim brought by Hulk Hogan years ago and how the decision in the case illustrates some of the shortcomings of the courts' approach to defamation cases involving publications that blur the line between reality and fiction.
Even if people acknowledge that misinformation is incorrect after a correction has been presented, their feelings towards the source of the misinformation can remain unchanged. The current study ...investigated whether participants reduce their support of Republican and Democratic politicians when the prevalence of misinformation disseminated by the politicians appears to be high in comparison to the prevalence of their factual statements. We presented U.S. participants either with (1) equal numbers of false and factual statements from political candidates or (2) disproportionately more false than factual statements. Participants received fact‐checks as to whether items were true or false, then rerated both their belief in the statements as well as their feelings towards the candidate. Results indicated that when corrected misinformation was presented alongside equal presentations of affirmed factual statements, participants reduced their belief in the misinformation but did not reduce their feelings towards the politician. However, if there was considerably more misinformation retracted than factual statements affirmed, feelings towards both Republican and Democratic figures were reduced—although the observed effect size was extremely small.
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Our present research focuses on the use of the accusation of practising magic to defame Queen Fredegunda of Neustria (547-597), one of the most charismatic personalities of Merovingian's history. ...That accusation was an effective way to relegate someone to the realm of alterity and marginality. Fredegunda was accused of resorting to magical remedies in order to keep herself in power and dispose of her political opponents, whereas in other occasions, paradoxically, she is presented as an active and bloody pursuer of witchcraft. The author of almost all the news related to this issue is Gregory of Tours, who in his Historiae never missed an opportunity to charge against her.
The modern law of defamation is frequently criticised for being outdated,obscure and even incomprehensible. The Making of the Modern Law of Defamation explains how and why the law has come to be as ...it is by offering an historical analysis of its development from the seventeenth century to the present day. Whilst the primary focus of the book is the law of England, it also makes extensive use of comparative common law materials from jurisdictions such as Australia, South Africa, the United States and Scotland. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the law of defamation, in media law and in the relationship between free speech and the law.
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