Defamation and social media
Given the current climate in many fandoms, I thought I would provide a little education on the subject of callouts, abusive and insulting language, and name calling.
First of all, many people are throwing around terms without clearly understanding their meaning. I will address here the current favorite phrase in many fandoms: ‘you’re a pedophile’. Writing about fictional underage characters, human or otherwise, is not pedophilia. When you call someone that because of a story they’ve written (or art they’ve created), you are watering down a term that should only be used about someone who has committed the most egregious crimes against actual children.
If you don’t believe that it’s all right for an adult to write fiction about underage characters engaging in sexual acts, then you should probably be attacking authors such as Stephen King, Judy Blume, Norma Klein, Madeleine L’Engle, David Levithan, Danielle Evans, Megan Abbot, Lindsay Hunter, and V.C. Andrews just to name a few. These people certainly have a longer reach and great influence than a fanfiction writer.
Secondly, before you start calling people names just because YOU don’t approve of their subject matter, you should really think hard about the legal ramifications of your actions.
Libel and slander are both types of defamation. Libel is an untrue defamatory statement that is made in writing. Slander is an untrue defamatory statement that is spoken orally. The difference between defamation and slander is that a defamatory statement can be made in any medium.
By “any medium”, that is inclusive of the internet. In many countries that is an actionable offense. It means that the person you have called a ‘pedophile’ online can bring a civil suit against you. A libel or slander lawsuit seeks monetary damages for harm caused by the statement, such as pain and suffering, damage to the plaintiff’s reputation, lost wages or a loss of ability to earn a living, and personal emotional reactions such as shame, humiliation, and anxiety.
So, you think that you’re ‘anonymous’ and that the person you have libeled can’t find you? Think again. The social media site that you are hiding behind will comply with a court order to divulge your true name. Being underage doesn’t make you ‘safe’ either. A lawsuit can be filed against your primary guardians.
Why do you think that social media sites immediately remove posts when they receive a claim that said post is libelous or hate filled? They do it because they know that it is wrong.
I can only hope that the people who need to read this actually do so. Some of them are old enough to know better and the ones who don’t, or are quite young, should educate themselves before they find that they are in hot water.
If you don’t like certain fandom content, then avoid it. Period. Easiest thing in the world to do. No, you do not get to push your opinions onto other people through strong-arm tactics. You are solely responsible for your online experience, the rest of us are not required to modify ours just to suit you.
My greatest hope is that we will all, someday soon, learn to be better to each other.
