I have a hypothetical that I am curious about. If people are calling a man in the community a "rapist" and "sexual predator" on an email list with hundreds of members when there are no such criminal charges/allegations against him, is there a possible claim for slander/defamation? Is a defense like 'our community standard is one where we can say whatever we want' likely to be a viable defense? How does gossip impact the reasonable belief requirement?
Sorry that this is 3 questions rolled into one - since they're on the same hypo, I thought it may be ok to post.
Sorry that this is 3 questions rolled into one - since they're on the same hypo, I thought it may be ok to post.