Wikipedia:Libel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This is not policy. This page has overstated the issue somewhat, given the fact that Wikipedia hasn't been sued yet.
The goal of Wikipedia is to create an encyclopedic information source adhering to a neutral point-of-view (NPOV) style of prose. However, the realities of international defamation laws demand that we pay attention to legal issues in order to ensure that our work can remain available, and to protect the project from legal liability.
Any libelous content posted to Wikipedia potentially exposes the author and the site's operators (The Wikimedia Foundation) to legal liability. The Wikipedia server is hosted in the United States, which guarantees certain Constitutional protections for published work (see below). Although these protections apply to Wikipedia regardless of an author's nationality, it is important to note that they protect the US-hosted Wikipedia server, and not necessarily the author. Authors who are not residents of the United States are advised to check their local defamation laws.
Protections afforded by U.S. law
In order for a statement to be found libelous under U.S. law, it must not only be false and damage someone's reputation, but, in instances where public figures are being reported, it must also evidence what the courts have called "a reckless disregard for the truth". In theory, this exempts defamatory remarks made in error, so long as that error was made in a reasonable attempt to produce an accurate article.
Private figures, however, need only prove "negligence" when suing for libel. If a private individual is unjustly accused by a newspaper of being a murderer, the newspaper will probably lose a libel case if this person sues. See Slander and libel.
The standard journalists' handbook on libel dos and don'ts, which is recommended reading for all Wikipedia contributors, is The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, ISBN 0738203084 or ISBN 0738207403. (It can be bought from online book retailers for about US$13 to $17 new or US$8.00 used.) It is updated annually.
Be careful of phrases such as "arrested for" and "sued for" if the person has not pleaded guilty or been convicted. The AP stylebook says: "To avoid any suggestion that someone is being judged before a trial, do not use a phrase such as 'arrested for killing.' Instead, use 'arrested on a charge of killing.'"
One troubling judgement pertinent to Wikipedia is Gutnick v Dow Jones, which essentially allows Australians to sue anyone in the world, in Australia and under Australian law, for libel if they publish libelous material on the Internet and it is seen by an Australian. If such a lawsuit were to be brought against Wikipedia, the site's operators would not be able to invoke the protection of the press afforded by the First Amendment.
For this reason, contributors should recognize that it is their responsibility to ensure that material posted on Wikipedia is not defamatory, either in their own country or in the United States. Anyone who knowingly posts defamatory prose on the site will likely find that they — and not Wikipedia, Wikimedia or any other participants in this social software experiment — are liable.
Talk pages
Although Wikipedia's NPOV policy should adequately serve to protect the project from legal liability, it is important to note that Wikipedia also contains a great deal of material that need not necessarily be written in NPOV-style. The Talk pages, for instance, frequently contain unsupported opinions, allegations, and even insults. In cases where insults are extremely inflammatory (hence vandalism), these comments can be removed from the page.
See also
- Carafano v. Metrosplash.com - a pertinent case regarding the liability of Internet Service Providers who are not information providers
