Reading about the defamation case involving Elon Musk and Vernon Unsworth has made me wonder: is calling someone a "pedophile" in a public space or on a public platform, such as Twitter, illegal in the U.S. or not?
Excerpted for some context on the case:
Moreover:
Elon Musk wins defamation case over 'pedo guy' tweet about caver
The plaintiff's lawyer commented that the lack of explicit identification in the Tweet was the jury's grounds for acquitting Musk. The Times also stated the same:
Elon Musk's win over Vernon Unsworth was a miscarriage of justice, according to Unsworth's lawyer
If the target of the accusation is almost universally understood to be a specific person, is there really "lack of identification" according to U.S. law? In what cases would accusing someone of being a pedophile and repeating the statement in an email result in a conviction of defamation/libel under U.S. law?
Excerpted for some context on the case:
During an interview with CNN, the diver suggested the billionaire "stick his submarine where it hurts". Mr Musk, who now has nearly 30 million followers, responded with a series of tweets about Mr Unsworth - including the one calling him "pedo guy". It was later deleted.
Moreover:
What else was said at court?
Testifying over two days on Tuesday and Wednesday, Mr Musk told the court he did not expect the "pedo" tweet to be taken literally.
He said that at the time he thought Mr Unsworth was "just some random creepy guy" who was "unrelated to the rescue".
Mr Musk apologised on Twitter and in court for his outburst.
Contesting this, Mr Wood cited another now-deleted tweet the billionaire sent to his followers saying: "Bet ya a signed dollar it's true."
He also cited an email exchange that Mr Musk had with a Buzzfeed reporter who contacted him for comment on the threat of legal action, where the entrepreneur said: "Stop defending child rapists."
Elon Musk wins defamation case over 'pedo guy' tweet about caver
The plaintiff's lawyer commented that the lack of explicit identification in the Tweet was the jury's grounds for acquitting Musk. The Times also stated the same:
Wood also tweeted saying the jury's verdict was reached based on the fact that Musk never named Unsworth in his tweet, and was therefore judged to have not identified him.
The Times also reported lack of identification as being behind the jury's reasoning. Wood called the verdict a "miscarriage of justice."
Elon Musk's win over Vernon Unsworth was a miscarriage of justice, according to Unsworth's lawyer
If the target of the accusation is almost universally understood to be a specific person, is there really "lack of identification" according to U.S. law? In what cases would accusing someone of being a pedophile and repeating the statement in an email result in a conviction of defamation/libel under U.S. law?