Watch what you post on social media.

Over the past few weeks, I have seen an increasing number of posts on social media wherein the poster is alerting users of alleged suspicious behavior of an individual. On one occasion, a truck was driving slowly through a neighborhood; another was about a man who was sitting in the car at a park. On both occasions, the poster posted pictures of the car, including the tag number. Also, on both occasions, that poster, along with other posters implied and automatically assumed that the individuals were guilty of something with no further evidence.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, you should report the suspicious behavior to the authorities, but you should refrain from posting pictures, especially pictures that contain personal identifiers. We live in a world where it is common to post everything online and sometimes we don’t understand the ramifications of such action. In both cases mentioned above, the posts could be very damaging to the character of the individuals who were the subject of the posts. Is that bad? Well, if you place yourself in the position of the individual, you can understand that it would be embarrassing at the very least, and may also result in damage to their livelihood or employment.

Defamation of character can be spoken, which is called slander, or written, which is called libel. The requirements of defamation are as follows: 1) an intentional statement; 2) the statement is false; 3) the statement is published (communicated) to a third person; and 4) the statement causes damages to the victim’s reputation. If the statement falls into certain categories, the damage to reputation is assumed. This is called Defamation Per Se. The per se categories are: a) Indications that a person was involved in criminal activity; b) Indications that a person had a "loathsome," contagious or infectious disease; c) Indications that a person was unchaste or engaged in sexual misconduct; and d) Indications that a person was involved in behavior incompatible with the proper conduct of his business, trade or profession.

Obviously, there are a lot of variables that must be evaluated before bringing a defamation case, however, when you are posting on social media, remember that the laws apply to you just as if you were communicating in person. As such, it is best to be careful and watch what you post since it may get you in legal hot water and end up costing you money to defend. (This is general in nature and not intended as legal advice. Please consult an attorney if you have specific legal questions.)