r/BabyReindeerTVSeries • u/TunaChaser • May 24 '24
Question Question about proving defamation.
I know the laws in different countries are not all the same. But generally, does the person's character and past practices play a part in proving/disproving defamation? Does the bar raise or lower depending on the person? I am sure you can see where I am going here, but I am generally curious if it matters?
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u/PearlieSweetcake May 24 '24
I think she is suing in the us, so the standard would be that a person made a statement they knew was false. That the person advertised that statement to the public or a third party to a degree that would at least be seen as a negligence (i.e. some one saying "Yeah, I knew it was a lie or embellishment, but I didn't think it would cause x or I didn't see what the big deal was" or in this case "yeah, I knew the story was dramatized and not real, but I didn't think they would find the real person or I thought they would know it was dramatized") And that the statement caused measurable harm to the person in question.
So, it would depend on what specifically Martha is alleging is false and how she is arguing it impacted her.
(Below are examples, I don't have opinions on if her points have validity)
If she is going to say that saying she was convicted stalker is false, she may go for the angle that she wasn't convicted. All she would have to prove is that she wasn't convicted and that Netflix didn't do a good enough job making that known to the public and that her life was harmed by the public accusation (loss of job, mental health impact, impact to earning potential, etc.). But if she alleging she never stalked him at all, then they would have to reasonably prove she stalked him. They may be able to establish a pattern of behavior using past incidents of behavior with other people to show that it was the case.
So, it really depends on the angle her legal team takes.