Simon Singh Stops Writing His Column To Focus On Fighting 'Bogus' Libel Suit

from the bogus-bogus-bogus dept

Mon, Mar 15th 2010 5:27pm — Mike Masnick

We've written before about the libel fight that Simon Singh is fighting in the UK, where the British Chiropractic Assocation sued him for libel for saying that some of the things that the BCA claimed chiropractors could do were "bogus." Singh, who has a PhD. and has written numerous books about science, was pointing out that the BCA was making claims that had little scientific evidence to back them up -- hence "bogus." Tragically a court focused on the use of that word, suggesting that Singh meant the BCA had engaged in deliberate dishonesty, rather than just aggressive marketing. Because of the amount of time and resources it is taking him to fight this, Singh is now giving up his column in The Guardian, noting just how damaging a ridiculous libel lawsuit can be on individuals.

The only good news out of this is that the lawsuit against Singh has brought about two important forms of backlash:

A large group of concerned citizens online have actively been debunking claims from the BCA, and getting official investigations started of any chiropractor that makes bogus (yes, bogus) claims about what chiropractors can cure.
Singh's case has become a focal point in a new, much-needed, effort in the UK to reform libel laws in that country -- where existing laws effectively put the burden on the accused to prove that they didn't libel the other party.

It's awful to see Singh have to go through all of this, but hopefully his sacrifices will mean others won't have to face the same issue down the road.

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Filed Under: libel, simon singh, uk
Companies: british chiropractic association

14 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 15 Mar 2010 @ 5:46pm

What we need are more people talking about the laws and less about the sciences.

Man-made laws are more important than scientific ones!

Everybody knows that, at least those who went to law school and not science school.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 15 Mar 2010 @ 5:59pm

Oh for frak's sake
"Singh, ... was pointing out that the BCA was making claims that had little scientific evidence to back them up -- hence "bogus." Tragically a court focused on the use of that word, suggesting that Singh meant the BCA had engaged in deliberate dishonesty, rather than just aggressive marketing."

English major FAIL!
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- Any Mouse, 15 Mar 2010 @ 10:02pm
  
  Re: Oh for frak's sake
  Why? Explain what is wrong with what was said, here.
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  - Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 16 Mar 2010 @ 6:21am
    
    Re: Re: Oh for frak's sake
    In the real world, 'aggresive marketing' usually is 'deliberate dishonesty.'
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- JEDIDIAH, 16 Mar 2010 @ 1:23pm
  
  Re: Oh for frak's sake
  What I want to know is why 3rd parties were doing all of the "debunking". Singh should have had a nice pile of research that he could have thrown in the BCA's face at a moments notice. This is what any respectable journalist should have been able to do.
  
  Everyone seems eager to defend a trash talker just because he was talking trash against people that are unpopular. He was clearly pandering to the bias of his audience.
  
  Despite all of the gushing fanboys, this guy was acting like he was working for Fox News.
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Blamer .. (profile), 15 Mar 2010 @ 7:59pm

innocent until proven bankrupt
Henry VII: Put them in the iron maiden.
Ted: Iron Maiden?
Bill and Ted: Excellent! [air guitar]
Henry VII: Execute them.
Bill and Ted: Bogus.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Mar 2010 @ 8:00pm

Its the UK not US.
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- Any Mouse, 15 Mar 2010 @ 10:03pm
  
  Re:
  And your point is what, exactly?
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- Mike Masnick (profile), 16 Mar 2010 @ 12:11am
  
  Re:
  Its the UK not US.
  
  Uh, nor did anyone say it was the US.
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TW Burger (profile), 15 Mar 2010 @ 10:40pm

Geller v. Randi
This reminds me of when James Randi was sued by Uri Geller. Randi was almost bankrupted by Geller's lawsuit. Uri Geller used false claims to make huge amounts of money and Randi challenged his claims of psychic abilities. It was public money that supported Randi. Time to kick in again boys and girls.
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Dohn Joe, 15 Mar 2010 @ 11:13pm

What Crap
Singh is an excellent author as well. His book "The Code Book" is the most entertaining and succinct read on the subject of cryptography!
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zenith (profile), 16 Mar 2010 @ 3:22am

Worth pointing out - my Chiropractor in the UK is an absolute genius and has sorted me out on so many occasions when GPs (normal doctors) had no clue or care to fix my issues.
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ThatAVGuy (profile), 16 Mar 2010 @ 6:42pm

Chiropractic/Bullshit vs Science Based Medicine/Reality
http://www.videosift.com/video/Chiropractic-vs-Science-Based-Medicine

Very Interesting watch if your've got a spare 20mins.
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Jeff Bowers, 19 Jul 2012 @ 10:54am

Making it worse
I think he's making things worse for himself. First he writes an article that gets in him trouble with libel. Now he's calling the suite bogus? Does this guy think he's invincible?
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