Simon Singh's bogus meaning
Science writer Simon Singh has lost a preliminary libel battle in the High Court with the British Chiropractic Association, the Guardian reports.
The ruling centred on the meaning of the word bogus. In a comment piece for the Guardian, Dr Singh criticised the BCA for happily promoting bogus treatments. Mr Justice Eady said this implied the association was being consciously dishonest. Dr Singh says he never intended this meaning.
The case highlights the dangers of certain words in libel. Dr Singh may have felt able to prove a lack of scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of the treatments the BCA advocates. But the High Court's ruling means that for a defence of justification (truth) to work, he will now need to prove that the BCA was consciously dishonest -- a much tougher thing to show.
The writer's intention does not matter in a libel case. The test is how the text would be understood by a reasonable person. Importantly, where there is more than one possible meaning, the court is allowed to consider the worst-case meaning.
The defence of fair comment may also be open Dr Singh -- he is entitled to his opinion. But this defence has conditions including that he cannot pass off as comment allegations of criminal or immoral behaviour. Whereas questions about a lack of scientific evidence may be considered fair comment, accusing the BCA of being consciously dishonest is likely to taken by a court as an allegation of immoral behaviour.
The ruling centred on the meaning of the word bogus. In a comment piece for the Guardian, Dr Singh criticised the BCA for happily promoting bogus treatments. Mr Justice Eady said this implied the association was being consciously dishonest. Dr Singh says he never intended this meaning.
The case highlights the dangers of certain words in libel. Dr Singh may have felt able to prove a lack of scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of the treatments the BCA advocates. But the High Court's ruling means that for a defence of justification (truth) to work, he will now need to prove that the BCA was consciously dishonest -- a much tougher thing to show.
The writer's intention does not matter in a libel case. The test is how the text would be understood by a reasonable person. Importantly, where there is more than one possible meaning, the court is allowed to consider the worst-case meaning.
The defence of fair comment may also be open Dr Singh -- he is entitled to his opinion. But this defence has conditions including that he cannot pass off as comment allegations of criminal or immoral behaviour. Whereas questions about a lack of scientific evidence may be considered fair comment, accusing the BCA of being consciously dishonest is likely to taken by a court as an allegation of immoral behaviour.
Labels: Journalism, Media law
2 Comments:
Excellent summary, marred by one thing. You can't "centre around" something - if it's around the object, it's no longer in the centre.
Fair point. Post edited.
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