FG 4

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis

Real BigD,

Sorry to inundate you with requests for your legal opinions, but my guess is that by stating your line of work here you might be open to offereing one or two.

Let's say I publicly accused a jockey of race fixing on a internet forum with no basis of fact, only conjecture and wild conspircy theories.

Have I opened myself to a liebel or slander suit by said jockey? What is the difference between libel and slander? Would this be a civil action solely, or could there be criminal implications and possible prosicution at hand as well?

Thanks, your responses are valued and appreciated.

You're probably safe.

Libel and slander are the same thing; defamation. The only difference is how the statement is published. Slander is spoken; libel is through a fixed medium, usually written but could also be otherwise, i.e., a sign or billboard.

Unless stated as fact, what you said or wrote is not defamation. In other words, if an alleged assertion is a statement of opinion rather than fact, it's not defamation.

Now if you had done this in Kenya, you might already be dead as punishment.