In this episode Matthew Karakoulakis unpacks the intricacies of defamation in the age of digital media, when information travels at lightning speeds; reputations can be destroyed in a matter of seconds and Aboriginal people often experience defamation.
To give some context to this episode Matthew Karakoulakis explained that he’s represented many Aboriginal corporations in defamation cases.
He also emphasized that it is not just corporations that are the object of defamation, Indigenous peoples as individuals also experience defamation.
“Defamation is extremely relevant these days where you’ve got podcasts, email, digital media... Information travels very quickly and reputations can be destroyed just as quickly,” Matthew Karakoulakis said.
He also stressed that Australian states have different defamation laws but the differences between the states are very minimal.
“The laws are near identical in different states and this is by design. This prevents people going around shopping for the place where they could get the best outcome.”
Matthew Karakoulakis also explains that to be defamatory, information must contain the 3 key components below.
- Identification
- Publication
- Defamatory in nature
In this episode we also spoke about the importance of lodging defamation claims in a timely manner as past a certain delay, usually 12 months, it is not possible to challenge defamation cases in the legal system.
Matthew also spoke about a particular case in NSW where a person was charged and fined a substantial amount for defamation using email.
