DEFAMATION
I guess I’ve always known about defamation, but have never really given it second thought especially when I’m active on social media. The main definition I thought defamation meant was when writing about something/someone you can’t make claims but represent them as a facet. This is correct but after today’s symposium I realised this is only the bare minimum of the word.
(DEFAMATION is bigger and and stronger than I thought…)
There are so many hidden ‘small print’ when it comes to defamation, no matter how big or small your situation is. An example from the symposium was about how a nobody created a short film that made it into an independent film festival. The opening sequence had a guy brushing his teeth singing along to you’re the voice by John Farnham (not actual song, I forgot real one). It turned out that John Farnham’s manager’s daughter was in the audience so when she got home just passed through conversation that John’s song was sung. John Farnham’s manager then went to the independent film maker and sued him for defamation as he didn’t have permission to use the song so is now working at a 7/11 paying off $200,000….
Who would think that something so little can turn out so negatively life changing to an everyday person??
I have to ask myself, is it really worth saying something about someone when I don’t know all the facts or even further is it worth using someone else’s work even if it’s just singing a cover of a song and placing it on youtube when reality I don’t have permission and could ruin any chance of a career/future…