There have been a number of libel cases popping up over the past few years where random insults on Twitter are turned into full blown court cases. Tragically, these cases have picked up the “twibel” name — a neologism that seems silly and pointless. Still, it’s good to see that courts appear to (mostly) be recognizing that random insults shouldn’t be considered libelous. Venkat Balasubramani has the details of a recent ruling (where both parties represented themselves!), in which a court recognized that saying on Twitter that someone is “fucking crazy” isn’t libelous, especially as part of a “heated” online discussion. I won’t get into the details of the case, other than that it involves a horse named Munition, but here’s the Court’s discussion:
The tweet cannot be read in isolation, but in the context of the entire discussion. In this case, the tweet was made as part of a heated Internet debate about plaintiff’s responsibility for the disappearance of her horse. Furthermore, it cannot be read literally without regard to the way in which a reasonable person would interpret it.

Read the Full Article: Source – Tech Dirt
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140415/16325126927/court-says-that-tweeting-someone-is-fking-crazy-is-not-libelous.shtml

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