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Originally Posted by DanaC
Why do you not have the right to say suchthings about an individual? What is the rationale behind libel laws?
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The line is always whether you are hurting anyone with your words. By speaking out against an individual, you have the possibility of hurting their career, social status, etc. But on the other hand, it is not libel* if you can prove that what you said is true in the individual's case. For example, if I said that Mr. Jones must be a thief because he is black, and it turns out that he actually
has stolen things, then I cannot have damaged his reputation and am not guilty of libel, even if I was saying it in a racist fashion with no foreknowledge that he had actually stolen something.
*rkz -
libel is a written defamatory statement;
liable is an adjective and means to be held responsible for something.