Defamation

Ppardon

pinkshoes said:

Ppardon said:

grahamgoo said:

Changing your name sounds incredibly drastic.  Surely whoever is making the posts would find out your new name soon enough and start making posts using that instead.   

Why do you think the person is doing such a thing?

Why not just omit your middle name from job applications?

Yes, I would rather not have to.

But it seems that anyone can write anything about anyone these days on sites like Reddit and so far there seems little someone can do about it.

It's an online hate group where they are digging up dirt on a certain celebrity, and for me it's a case of 'guilty by association', and the 'Moderators' are the main perpetrators.

Yes I though about, although I haven't applied for a job in many years but as I recall in the past you have to show proof of being able to work in the UK?

Also, it's tricky because I am known my my middle name, but my first name is my official name, so it won't take long before my new employer knows all three names.

So you're saying these hate posts are from people who you have never met before, and they're just posting them purely due to you being associated with another person that they do know?

The police would be your first port of call. Screen shot what you believe to be defamatory and contact your local police for advice.

Changing your name is a bit extreme. What do the messages actually say? Is an employer really going to care about some stupid comments on a trashy website?

That's correct

I don't think going to the Police would have much effect as it's Reddit, and they would probably say it's a case for Reddit themselves(although there seems nobody to contact)

Other social media companies like Instagram are more effective, I had some libellous posts taken down quickly with no need to call the Police.

Yeah it's extreme, and people could get wind of the new name.

I won't go into detail with about they actually said, but just pretty nasty and completely untrue.

The employer may not care too much, then again as I am in the public eye let's say, then I would rather my prospective employer not know about my history over the last few years.

Ppardon

Undervalued said:

Ppardon said:

Hi all

I have been subject to a slew of defamatory posts on Reddit.

I have tried reporting all these posts with no response, and Reddit seems to be a community run website so contacting anyone human seems impossible.

Ideally I would like these defamatory posts removed, but I am also considering changing my name by deedpoll.

I'm hoping that there are some people here that have been through something similar, or people who would know the best course of action. The thing is that I am applying for jobs at the moment, and they can just Google my name and find all this libellous stuff.

Thanks

Ppardon

The problem is if contacting the website / forum / community doesn't achieve what you want then doing anything about this is going to be very expensive.

Claims for libel / deformation / breach of privacy / seeking injunctions etc are, to be honest, only open to the wealthy. So, unless you have significant resources that you are prepared to risk (and I assume you don't as you are asking here rather than an expensive firm of specialist solicitors) your options are limited. What is the "certain celebrity" likely to do about this? Although "celebrity" and wealthy are not always one and the same thing!

There are also firms that specialise in cleaning up people's online reputation by a variety of legal means. Some are highly reputable but I imagine their services don't come cheap as they tend to operate for the same market.

How unusual is your name, particularly if you are normally known by a middle name? Unless the jobs you are applying for require detailed background check is an average employer really likely to make the connection and be bothered about it?

Yes exactly I don't have the finances to pursue this, and I am no longer associated with this 'celebrity'

All the employer would have to do is look up my full name on Google, then as I said a slew of posts will come up courtesy of the wild west that is Reddit. There's also a lot of history about myself that I would prefer was not viewable to employers

Ppardon

penners324 said:

No employer checks Reddit. They might look at LinkedIn.

It's not about checking Reddit directly, all they need to do is Google my name XXX XXX XXXX and there will be a lot fo information presented on a plate.

Already one person who was also associated with this guy had troubles, this online mob contacted his employer and tried to get him fired.

lincroft1710

Is (or was) this "celebrity" not of particular good character. 

pinkshoes

Ppardon said:

It's not about checking Reddit directly, all they need to do is Google my name XXX XXX XXXX and there will be a lot fo information presented on a plate.

Already one person who was also associated with this guy had troubles, this online mob contacted his employer and tried to get him fired.

Tried and succeeded or tried and failed?

It might be an idea just to grow some thick skin over this one. Yes, some untrue stuff has been posted about you which isn't nice, but at the end of the day, it isn't true so just try and shrug it off. If anyone brings it up, then you just say "yup, unfortunately there are some very sad people in this world that have nothing better to do than write rubbish online". 

Ppardon

pinkshoes said:

Ppardon said:

It's not about checking Reddit directly, all they need to do is Google my name XXX XXX XXXX and there will be a lot fo information presented on a plate.

Already one person who was also associated with this guy had troubles, this online mob contacted his employer and tried to get him fired.

Tried and succeeded or tried and failed?

It might be an idea just to grow some thick skin over this one. Yes, some untrue stuff has been posted about you which isn't nice, but at the end of the day, it isn't true so just try and shrug it off. If anyone brings it up, then you just say "yup, unfortunately there are some very sad people in this world that have nothing better to do than write rubbish online". 

That's certainly one approach, but also these people have drawn attention to a lot of posts i've made online that i'd rather not have people see. So i'm prepared to do something about it if it doesn't cause me too much grief. I'm thinking of changing my name by deedpoll and removing my first name, which I only use formally anyway.

There are other problems that could arise due to these posts, for example if a company is making a financial decision about me

Marcon

Ppardon said:

That's certainly one approach, but also these people have drawn attention to a lot of posts i've made online that i'd rather not have people see. So i'm prepared to do something about it if it doesn't cause me too much grief. I'm thinking of changing my name by deedpoll and removing my first name, which I only use formally anyway.

There are other problems that could arise due to these posts, for example if a company is making a financial decision about me

That's not defamation as you actually made these unwise posts - just another shining example of why posting anything online is fraught with danger. If your posts are so bad that you need to disassociate yourself from your past, then your original question isn't the one which needs to be answered.

Ppardon

Marcon said:

Ppardon said:

That's certainly one approach, but also these people have drawn attention to a lot of posts i've made online that i'd rather not have people see. So i'm prepared to do something about it if it doesn't cause me too much grief. I'm thinking of changing my name by deedpoll and removing my first name, which I only use formally anyway.

There are other problems that could arise due to these posts, for example if a company is making a financial decision about me

That's not defamation as you actually made these unwise posts - just another shining example of why posting anything online is fraught with danger. If your posts are so bad that you need to disassociate yourself from your past, then your original question isn't the one which needs to be answered.

You misinterpreted what I said.

Let me make it as clear as I can.

There have been libellous posts made about myself on Reddit, concerning posts on an internet forum that I (allegedly) made. They have said that my real name is associated with these posts and proceeded to make libellous comments based on deliberately twisting what was written in these posts.

Undervalued

Ppardon said:

pinkshoes said:

Ppardon said:

It's not about checking Reddit directly, all they need to do is Google my name XXX XXX XXXX and there will be a lot fo information presented on a plate.

Already one person who was also associated with this guy had troubles, this online mob contacted his employer and tried to get him fired.

Tried and succeeded or tried and failed?

It might be an idea just to grow some thick skin over this one. Yes, some untrue stuff has been posted about you which isn't nice, but at the end of the day, it isn't true so just try and shrug it off. If anyone brings it up, then you just say "yup, unfortunately there are some very sad people in this world that have nothing better to do than write rubbish online". 

That's certainly one approach, but also these people have drawn attention to a lot of posts i've made online that i'd rather not have people see. So i'm prepared to do something about it if it doesn't cause me too much grief. I'm thinking of changing my name by deedpoll and removing my first name, which I only use formally anyway.

There are other problems that could arise due to these posts, for example if a company is making a financial decision about me

Maybe but there is an obvious life lesson there!

Someone drawing attention to something you have written is not normally libellous.

If they have posted something about you which is untrue and would make a reasonable person think less favourably of you, then that is potentially actionable.

I am not clear how much of the problem is in each category?

Ppardon

Undervalued said:

Ppardon said:

pinkshoes said:

Ppardon said:

It's not about checking Reddit directly, all they need to do is Google my name XXX XXX XXXX and there will be a lot fo information presented on a plate.

Already one person who was also associated with this guy had troubles, this online mob contacted his employer and tried to get him fired.

Tried and succeeded or tried and failed?

It might be an idea just to grow some thick skin over this one. Yes, some untrue stuff has been posted about you which isn't nice, but at the end of the day, it isn't true so just try and shrug it off. If anyone brings it up, then you just say "yup, unfortunately there are some very sad people in this world that have nothing better to do than write rubbish online". 

That's certainly one approach, but also these people have drawn attention to a lot of posts i've made online that i'd rather not have people see. So i'm prepared to do something about it if it doesn't cause me too much grief. I'm thinking of changing my name by deedpoll and removing my first name, which I only use formally anyway.

There are other problems that could arise due to these posts, for example if a company is making a financial decision about me

Maybe but there is an obvious life lesson there!

Someone drawing attention to something you have written is not normally libellous.

If they have posted something about you which is untrue and would make a reasonable person think less favourably of you, then that is potentially actionable.

I am not clear how much of the problem is in each category?

First of all there is no concrete proof that those posts are actually made by me.

I'll give you an example which is similar:

A comment on a forum says that "It's easy to sleep with women, you just need to get a few drinks in them first"

The reddit commentator finds the post, and believes the author is an associate of the celebrity, finds out his real name then writes:

"John Smith, self confessed serial rapist has been writing a how-to-rape guide!!"