Top 25 Libel Quotes

Ay – ‘The Green Fool’ business, the libel action over the head of it – did me a lot of damage. It destroyed the momentum.

I don’t think that there is absolute freedom of the press. We operate under laws – against libel, for instance. The idea that there is some absolute press freedom is kind of a myth.

With traditional publishing, books might be pulled due to plagiarism or libel – but rarely for content, and especially not without a widespread outcry.

Nobody wants to get rid of the libel laws, but we want them to be fairer. If we drove down the costs you might end up with more people suing. The only people who can afford it now are the rich and the giant corporations.

When public men indulge themselves in abuse, when they deny others a fair trial, when they resort to innuendo and insinuation, to libel, scandal, and suspicion, then our democratic society is outraged, and democracy is baffled.

We want to protect freedom of speech, but it is not unlimited freedom of speech. There has always been rules around defamation, slander and libel, and in Victoria, we have effective rules on racial and religious vilification.

Wart hogs should sue for libel. It is a terrible name and they are fine fellows and devoted family men and it is rare to see one by himself; the little woman and the kiddies are usually close at hand.

People back down because the libel system is so utterly hostile to journalists, bloggers, scientists. The smart thing is not to fight.

Libel actions, when we look at them in perspective, are an ornament of a civilized society. They have replaced, after all, at least in most cases, a resort to weapons in defense of a reputation.

All the libel lawyers will tell you there’s no libel any more, that everyone’s given up.

It is better, however, for his own reputation that the story-teller should risk a few actions for libel on account of these unfortunate coincidences than that he should adopt the melancholy device of using blanks or asterisks.

If someone feels they’re being maliciously treated, then they should sue for libel. And if someone is malicious, if they are reckless, they will have no defence in law at all.

It’s a libel to say that I use my newspapers to support my other business interests. The fact is, I haven’t got any other business interests.

Many of the worst cases that triggered the campaign for libel reform involved corporations suing critics, so these particular sections of the bill are vital to reduce future abuses of libel law.

A leader who cobbles together his self-esteem by attempting to silence or libel his critics and by amplifying his echo chamber is a dangerous one indeed.

I mean, in some cases with libel laws, you know, they can write things about people who have no course of action, because they can’t afford to take legal action against them.

As any editor will tell you, startling newsroom revelations are generally met with queries about where the information came from and how the reporter got it. Seriously startling revelations are followed by the vetting of libel lawyers.

If you call your opponent a politician, it’s grounds for libel.

Libel law was developed to protect the reputations of individuals, not corporations.

Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves.

I’ve stopped caring about skeptics, but if they libel or defame me they will end up in court.

The only rules comedy can tolerate are those of taste, and the only limitations those of libel.

In Britain, libel damages are small and people build them into the cost of doing business. In America, libel is very rare and much harder to prove, but the damages are enormous.

There is a certain belief that so long as something is published in cyberspace there is no need to respect the laws of contempt or libel. This is mistaken.

The problem is that in our country, they make it almost impossible for politicians to win anything. In England it’s easier to win a libel suit.