The NYT was roundly mocked for the original headline and has now changed it to
No One at Waffle House Remembers FEMA Official Who Says He Teleported In
The NYT was roundly mocked for the original headline and has now changed it to
No One at Waffle House Remembers FEMA Official Who Says He Teleported In
@limelight79 He might NOT be lying, and while you and I are free to say that, media and prominent figures are not, because it’s an allegation.
An allegation is a claim of fact supplied without evidence. If it’s potentially damaging, it can rise to defamation, and trigger a potentially costly lawsuit.
A ‘lie’ isn’t merely something untrue. It must be something the claimant KNOWS is untrue, at the moment they claimed it. And to make that allegation, you must be able to PROVE that.
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@limelight79 2/ We don’t really know what he believed at the time he said this. No technology exists to prove it either way, and short of very unlikely evidence such as a dated and notarized letter affirming intentional mistruth, or a credible witness to such admission, you can’t really PROVE he lied.
A person who sincerely believes a falsehood is not lying; they’re just wrong. To accuse them of lying is to impugn their character, and for public figures that can be defamation.
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@limelight79 3/ Again, it doesn’t matter what you or I say, because we’re not prominent enough for ANYTHING we say to constitute defamation. Nobodies like us recklessly say shit all the time, and no one cares. We can’t impugn the man’s character.
But a media organ or other public figure can, and so they can’t accuse people of lying unless they can prove it – which is very difficult. Such reckless talk can get them hauled into court and made to pay stiff penalties.
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Uh yeah that’s why I said they avoided directly saying he was lying.