Neuwirth v. Silverstein: Court Grants Anti-SLAPP Motion in Politically Charged Online Dispute
From Sam Bayard of the Citizen Media Law Project...
Last week, a California state court dismissed Rachel Neuwirth's libel claim against California blogger Richard Silverstein and university professor Joel Beinin pursuant to California's anti-SLAPP statute (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. ยง 425.16). This is a tremendous victory for Silverstein and Beinin, and a great decision in terms of maintaining some breathing space for political debate and academic freedom. For better or worse, the kind of hyperbole and insult-slinging that features in this case goes on in academic and policy circles, especially when it comes to Middle East-related topics like Zionism, terrorism, torture, and neo-conservative "democracy" initiatives. (For other examples in our legal threats database, see Khalaji v. Derakhshan and CAIR v. Whitehead.) While calling someone a "Kahanist swine" might not be a model of reasoned debate, it's important that the courts erect some kind of obstacles to turning every heated dispute or case of hurt feelings into a libel claim.
Neuwirth, a journalist and political commentator who espouses staunchly pro-Israel views, sued the defendants over two allegedly defamatory statements, one made by Silverstein on his blog, Tikun Olam, and the other made by Beinin on a listserv and subsequently re-published by Silverstein. In the first statement, Silverstein called Neuwirth a "Kahanist swine." The term "Kahanist" refers to a form of right-wing, relgious Zionism, one of the central tenets of which is that all Arab Muslims are enemies of Israel. The Israeli Kahane Chai (Kach) party is barred from participating in Israeli elections and listed as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, Canada, and the European Union. Neuwirth argued that, by calling her a "Kahanist swine," Silverstein implied that she was a terrorist. The second statement was Beinin's, made on the "Alef" listserv, claiming that Neuwirth had made a death threat to him. Silverstein subsequently re-posted Beinin's statement on his blog.
In granting the motion to strike, the court determined that the anti-SLAPP statute applied because Silverstein and Beinin made their respective statements in a "public forum" and the statements were made in connection with "an issue of public interest."
As it was already abundantly clear in California that a blog is a public forum, Neuwirth tried to get around this by arguing that Silverstein's blog did not qualify because he "controls the content." The court rejected this argument out-of-hand, indicating that control over indivual blogs and websites is part of the nature of the Internet, and that those with opposing views can create competing sites and publish articles or letters through the same medium.
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For more on the regulation of citizen journalism, visit the Citizen Media Law Project blog.
Last week, a California state court dismissed Rachel Neuwirth's libel claim against California blogger Richard Silverstein and university professor Joel Beinin pursuant to California's anti-SLAPP statute (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. ยง 425.16). This is a tremendous victory for Silverstein and Beinin, and a great decision in terms of maintaining some breathing space for political debate and academic freedom. For better or worse, the kind of hyperbole and insult-slinging that features in this case goes on in academic and policy circles, especially when it comes to Middle East-related topics like Zionism, terrorism, torture, and neo-conservative "democracy" initiatives. (For other examples in our legal threats database, see Khalaji v. Derakhshan and CAIR v. Whitehead.) While calling someone a "Kahanist swine" might not be a model of reasoned debate, it's important that the courts erect some kind of obstacles to turning every heated dispute or case of hurt feelings into a libel claim.
Neuwirth, a journalist and political commentator who espouses staunchly pro-Israel views, sued the defendants over two allegedly defamatory statements, one made by Silverstein on his blog, Tikun Olam, and the other made by Beinin on a listserv and subsequently re-published by Silverstein. In the first statement, Silverstein called Neuwirth a "Kahanist swine." The term "Kahanist" refers to a form of right-wing, relgious Zionism, one of the central tenets of which is that all Arab Muslims are enemies of Israel. The Israeli Kahane Chai (Kach) party is barred from participating in Israeli elections and listed as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, Canada, and the European Union. Neuwirth argued that, by calling her a "Kahanist swine," Silverstein implied that she was a terrorist. The second statement was Beinin's, made on the "Alef" listserv, claiming that Neuwirth had made a death threat to him. Silverstein subsequently re-posted Beinin's statement on his blog.
In granting the motion to strike, the court determined that the anti-SLAPP statute applied because Silverstein and Beinin made their respective statements in a "public forum" and the statements were made in connection with "an issue of public interest."
As it was already abundantly clear in California that a blog is a public forum, Neuwirth tried to get around this by arguing that Silverstein's blog did not qualify because he "controls the content." The court rejected this argument out-of-hand, indicating that control over indivual blogs and websites is part of the nature of the Internet, and that those with opposing views can create competing sites and publish articles or letters through the same medium.
- continued -
For more on the regulation of citizen journalism, visit the Citizen Media Law Project blog.