Judge Says Blogger Who Called Model A Skank Should Be Unmasked
from the anonymity? dept
US courts have generally been pretty good at protecting the anonymity of online speech from forced exposure -- in fact, as we're posting this story, we've come across yet another ruling protecting anonymous speech online. However, every so often a judge goes in the other direction. Earlier this year, we wrote about a case involving a model, Liskula Cohen, who was so upset about a blog that had a grand total of four posts insulting her, that she filed a lawsuit to uncover the anonymous blogger, claiming that it was defamatory to call her a "skank." Of course, most of us would never have heard of the blog, its posts, Liskula Cohen or that anyone thought she was a "skank" until this lawsuit was filed. But that's another issue for another day.However, CitMediaLaw alerts us to the news that the judge in the case has ruled that calling Liskula Cohen a "skank" is potentially defamatory, and not just an opinion or an everyday insult, and thus the blogger should be unmasked:
But Madden found that use of the terms "skank," "skanky," "ho" and "whoring" defamed Cohen because they appeared in captions near photos of the model in provocative poses. "Under these circumstances," Madden wrote, the words combined with the suggestive photos "carry a negative implication of sexual promiscuity."While certainly not the most high brow of insults, it's difficult to think that anyone reading the blog posts in question would take from it that it is somehow factual that Cohen was actually sexually promiscuous. I would imagine that the very small number of people who actually saw the site would conclude, accurately, that some unknown, anonymous blogger didn't like Cohen very much and posted a very small number of silly blog posts about her. And then they'd get on with their lives. Hopefully, the still (for now) anonymous blogger decides to appeal. Yes, the speech may have been nasty and obnoxious. But that doesn't warrant the gov't and Cohen forcing the blogger to be revealed.
Madden also rejected the blogger's contention that the words were vague insults. "In the context of this specific blog, such words cannot be reasonably viewed as comparable in meaning and usage to the word 'jerk' or any other loose and vague insult," Madden held.
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Filed Under: anonymity, blogging, liskula cohen, skanks
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Really?
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Truth shall set you free.
Side question: You can call someone an attention whore, but can you call them an attention skank?
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Well does she appear to be...
http://internetdefamationblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/liskulacohen.jpg
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Re: Truth shall set you free.
And in the context of models, is it defamatory?
Judges, OTOH...
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Re: Well does she appear to be...
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Sigh
First, masks are for pansies. Helmets are where it's at.
Secondly, I seem to remeber a magical time my father, Papa Helmet, described to me occasionally. In this far gone time, if someone insulted you, your choices were thus:
1. Ignore them, particularly if they're just being a lying asshole.
2. Stick up for yourself and fight back.
Where did we get this idea that the United States court system was our personal grieving tool? Some kind of ultra-innefficient soap box? Seriously, civil suits in this country are completely out of control. Free speech aside, this broad is a thin-skinned intellectual and emotional weakling that would have been naturally unselected long ago if it weren't for our overprotectionist society.
Here's to hoping the blogger appeals after finding online picture upon online picture of the girl acting in promiscuity, thereby getting the photos in the public record and hopefully into the nat'l archives.
Idiots.
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Re: Sigh
Always love your comments Dark Helmet.
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i don't know
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"He said mean words about me, sue him! *wah wah*" Great, so instead of people randomly threatening to report another person to an administrator in online chat room, forums, games, blogs, news sites, etc they are going to threaten to sue for defamation.
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It still sounds like a very, very misguided lawsuit, but less frivolous than if it were just because someone called her a skank.
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In a related story...
Skanky is as skanky does. That's what momma always says.
P.S. Another great post Helmet Boy.
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Re: i don't know
Free. She is a skank, not a prostitute.
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Anonymity is a lot like privacy. If you want privacy, don't go out in public. If you want to retain your anonymity, don't make public statements. To put it another way, once you put yourself out into the public sphere, any "right" of privacy or to anonymity disappears.
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Re:
Fine, what's your first and last name.
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Re:
Now "liar" may have a real case, but isn't she a liar anyways? All that makeup making her look like someone completely different, isn't she lying about who she really is? Aren't we all? Without more description on what the user meant with "liar", it's too vague to stand.
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read this again
"appeared in captions near photos of the model in provocative poses"
"provocative poses"
Skank!!!!
Case closed.
Dont want to be called a skank? Dont let yourself be seen, possibly drunk, with your ass in the air on a table at what appears to be a crappy basement club, and that's all I am willing to risk doing searches at work.
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Re:
A better argument might be that there actually is no such thing as 'Anonymous', especially as it relates to the Internet.
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How is an anonymous person supposed to anonymously appeal?
The judge should also consider context, it should be clear by the context of the statement that the defendant didn't mean what s/he said literally.
In all seriousness this ruling is unacceptable and should be resisted. Furthermore, the judge should be replaced by another judge and be banned from being a judge (or from any other position of public authority) for a year.
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Re: Re: i don't know
Well, you might have dig up ten or fifteen beers or an 8ball, but otherwise...
*GASP*, now some guy named Dark Helmet is telling people I'm a COKEHEAD!!!! Whatever will I do?
*As a side note, I would agree to attend any such lawsuit with zero resistance....if they allowed me to attend all proceedings in a full Dark Helmet outfit...
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Re:
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Re:
Same concept....
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Oh great... now we are all accessories to this
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Re:
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If he can't prove it, he is in trouble.
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Re: Well does she appear to be...
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Re: Re: By me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYIC0eZYEtI
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Re: Re: Re: By me
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Re: Re:
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Re:
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Re: Sigh
When someone realized that there are no financial downsides to suing someone.
Change that, and it will go away.
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Re: Sigh
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Re: Re: Sigh
Hell yeah he is.
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Re: Re:
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Lisa Cohen's skankiness..
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some people don't think
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Re:
What is your real name? and address? and phone number?
You made a public comment so let's find out who you really are!
Ahhh, thinking twice??
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should be fun
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Kidding, right?
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Re: Really?
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Re: Re: Well does she appear to be...
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Anonymous testimony?
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Definition of Skank
skanky - Adjective
* S: (adj) disgusting, disgustful, distasteful, foul, loathly, loathsome, repellent, repellant, repelling, revolting, skanky, wicked, yucky (highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust) "a disgusting smell"; "distasteful language"; "a loathsome disease"; "the idea of eating meat is repellent to me"; "revolting food"; "a wicked stench"
skank - Noun
* S: (n) filth, crud, skank (any substance considered disgustingly foul or unpleasant)
* S: (n) skank (a rhythmic dance to reggae music performed by bending forward and extending the hands while bending the knees)
skank - Verb
* S: (v) skank (dance the skank)
I would assume the person making the comment was using the term skank to express that Liskula Cohen's behavior or another atttribute is arousing aversion or disgust in the person. I do not think that this is libelous, just accurate. I believe the entire modeling industry to be very skanky.
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Re: Definition of Skank
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Prove She's a Skank
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Re: Lisa Cohen's skankiness..
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Re: Re: Definition of Skank
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Maybe this is a good publicity tool
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Re: Maybe this is a good publicity tool
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Yes...
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Re: some people don't think
Defence has to prove based on the knowledge the used to write the article that she is a skank. They would have to show that they know she is a skank. They cannot go on a fishing expedition on her sex life to try to show her as a skank.
Otherwise I would call every celeb in the book skanks, and then use all the discovery to write million seller books.
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Re: Definition of Skank
derogatory: a promiscuous woman. - 'the office skank.'
So that definition is out there pretty firmly.
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Typo
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Re: Re: some people don't think
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It's about the following false comments, not the word "skank"
"She may have been hot 10 years ago, but is it really attractive to watch this old hag straddle dudes in a nightclub or lounge?"
http://tbm.thebigmoney.com/blogs/feeling-lucky/2009/03/11/obscenities-fly-during-skank-h earing?page=0,1
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Clearly a publicity stunt
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who's the skank here?
It kind of reminds me of my ex. She was so sweet and nice in person, but when you get her behind the wheel of a car, she became the biggest ©unt you're likely to meet.
It would seem that peoples true nature come out behind the mask of anonymity.
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I love skanks
BTW, asshole is a compliment too.
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Re: who's the skank here?
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Re: Sigh
Gotta answer this question for you, though. (Where did we get this idea that the United States court system was our personal grieving tool?)
It's all in the name of protecting the children. Waa, somebody hurt my feelings. Waa, somebody looked at me wrong. Waa, that's not fair! There's this mythical idea of childhood in this country that has no connection to reality.
The great and powerful "IS" put this lovely mechanism into the universe we call "natural selection." If you can make it through that, well, then you deserve to be an adult.
We (The societal we.) coddle to the point of narcissism and then can't figure out why our kids are so rude/stupid/weak/whatever as adults.
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Re: Sigh
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Re:
I am impressed with the purity of your trollitude....
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