this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2026
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There should be a (heavy) penalty for public figures just saying this kind of made up crap about other people.
I'm a huge advocate for being able to speak your mind pretty much without any caveats, however objectionable your opinion is, but slander has nothing to do with free speech. This is a hill i'll die on.
They make it a "free speach" thing like false accusations are covered under that law.
I can't go around lying to police about how "my neighbor tried to kill me." Ruining their life for fun or profit has consequences, and rightfully so.
But for some reason, public figures go around talking about how "all trans people are pedophiles" and "immigrants are eating our cats and dogs."
It does ruin many lives too through deportation, bullying, gossip, and even just small stuff like reducing likelyhood of fucking getting hired at a job.
But also same figures and journalists, in spite of the victim testimonies and released files, can NOT call a certain someone pedophile without losing their job because "they didn't say allagedly."
It's like the application of laws and even their morals themselves bend around to unprotect minorities.
And if you're white (and wealthy, and a republican politician), then you get away with it every time.
I believe it falls under libel, but that's up to the person being defamed to pursue.
Slander is spoken, libel is written. Might be a little blurred in the age of video and podcasts though. Anyway, slander and libel cases are famously hard to win, because you have to prove the statement was made, the person who made it knew it was false, and that it damaged your reputation. It's also harder to win for public figures, as the increase in general media around them tends to dilute damaging statements.
I ment it more in the sense that public figures should just straight up be held to a higher standard than Joe Schmoe when it comes to these things.
Someone in this position should just be expected to know better and if otherswise be expected to prove these kinds of claims.
Just like I feel they are supposed to divest when they enter public office and be barred from investing in anything while holding any kind of position of power instead of becoming obscenely wealthy in this period of "public service".
But don't worry, i'm fully aware these things are all naive pipe dreams in this system.
Usually it isn't really legally separate anymore and is just defamation regardless of how you do it
Proving that Tommy Tuberville knew, or knows, anything would be pretty much impossible.
Yeah. Dude is a certified bigoted ignorant jackass. The check on guys like him is supposed to be the voting public, but I've seen what makes maga cheer... Part of the reason why I think a democracy where voting rights are "equal' will never produce an effective government.
I'm pretty sure if there's a country that invented Islamophobia it's either the Papal States or somewhere in central Europe and did it before people were aware that there were two clusters of continents on different hemispheres.
America absolutely got really in on it, but at our founding we were generally ok with Islam. But yes we were built on genocide and slavery.
I read that dudes comment and thought the same thing. Pretty sure the Crusades got the good ole USA beat by hundreds of years in the realm of islamophobia.
But also yeah the islamophobia is the USA is obnoxious and loud. As a white dude, I hate and get annoyed by all of that bullshit and the fact that when I'm travelling down south everyone assumes I'm a racist white guy and says dumb shit to me.
Yeah I really don't want to discount our country's real problems, but I also don't want to lend credence to the idea that it was founded as a Christian nation or that it's always been wholly evil in every way.
Also I don't want Europeans to brush off the islamophobia that they have as well. We all need to do better in this area.
I'd say the first Islamophobes were Meccan polytheists. I hear those guys had one hell of a redemption arc though.
Defamation laws exist