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

from the bogus-bogus-bogus dept

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:
  1. 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.
  2. 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


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  1. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    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!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. icon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Mar 2010 @ 8:00pm

    Its the UK not US.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Any Mouse, 15 Mar 2010 @ 10:02pm

    Re: Oh for frak's sake

    Why? Explain what is wrong with what was said, here.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Any Mouse, 15 Mar 2010 @ 10:03pm

    Re:

    And your point is what, exactly?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    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!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), 16 Mar 2010 @ 12:11am

    Re:

    Its the UK not US.


    Uh, nor did anyone say it was the US.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. icon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. icon
    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.'

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. icon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    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?

    link to this | view in thread ]


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