Wikipedia claims: “The 1964 case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, however, radically changed the nature of libel law in the United States by establishing that public officials could win a suit for libel only when they could prove the media outlet in question knew either that the information was wholly and patently false or that it was published ‘with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not’.”
This is typically referred to as showing “actual malice.” But as you correctly surmised, this case law is irrelevant. Sullivan has been extended to cover public figures as well, but Spartz is not a public figure.[1]
I am not a California attorney, but the caselaw says that the elements of a libelous statement are that it is:
false,
defamatory,
unprivileged,
and has a natural tendency to injure or causes special damage.
Libel only applies to statements of fact or mixed statements of fact and opinion, but not exclusive statements of opinion.[2] This post clearly has many direct statements of fact.[3] Many of these statements of fact have a natural tendency to injure Spartz’s and Nonlinear’s reputation. I’m certain that them being published has already cause Spartz and Nonlinear a substantial amount of damages. So if they are false and Spartz decides to bring a case against Ben then I would bet that Ben would be found liable for libel
Public figures are typically those who have general fame or notoriety in the community. Marilyn Monroe, Bill Clinton, Kim Kardashian, Riley Reid? all public figures. Your high school teacher, your maid, or the boss of a medium sized company? not public figures.
“Before she went on vacation, Kat requested that Alice bring a variety of illegal drugs across the border for her (some recreational, some for productivity). Alice argued that this would be dangerous for her personally, but Emerson and Kat reportedly argued that it is not dangerous at all and was “absolutely risk-free” ”
Public figures are typically those who have general fame or notoriety in the community.
He very obviously is one. As habryka points out, he has a WP entry backed by quite a few sources about him, specifically. He has an entire 5400-word New Yorker profile about him, which is just one of several you can grab from the WP entry (eg. Bloomberg). For comparison, I don’t think even Eliezer has gotten an entire New Yorker profile yet! If this is not a ‘public figure’, please do explain what you think it would take. Does he need a New York Times profile as well? (I regret to report that he only has 1 or 2 paragraphs thus far.)
Now, I am no particular fan of decreeing people ‘public figures’ who have not particularly sought out fame (and would not appreciate becoming a ‘public figure’ myself); however, most people would say that by the time you have been giving speeches to universities or agreeing to let a New Yorker journalist trail you around for a few months for a profile to boost your fame even further, it is safe to say that you have probably long since crossed whatever nebulous line divides ‘private’ from ‘public figure’.
Emerson Spartz has a Wikipedia article, and the critique is highly relevant to him in-particular. My best understanding is that Emerson is a public figure for the purpose of this article (though not necessarily for the purpose of all articles), but it doesn’t seem super clear cut to me.
This is typically referred to as showing “actual malice.” But as you correctly surmised, this case law is irrelevant. Sullivan has been extended to cover public figures as well, but Spartz is not a public figure.[1]
I am not a California attorney, but the caselaw says that the elements of a libelous statement are that it is:
false,
defamatory,
unprivileged,
and has a natural tendency to injure or causes special damage.
Libel only applies to statements of fact or mixed statements of fact and opinion, but not exclusive statements of opinion.[2] This post clearly has many direct statements of fact.[3] Many of these statements of fact have a natural tendency to injure Spartz’s and Nonlinear’s reputation. I’m certain that them being published has already cause Spartz and Nonlinear a substantial amount of damages. So if they are false and Spartz decides to bring a case against Ben then I would bet that Ben would be found liable for libel
Public figures are typically those who have general fame or notoriety in the community. Marilyn Monroe, Bill Clinton, Kim Kardashian, Riley Reid? all public figures. Your high school teacher, your maid, or the boss of a medium sized company? not public figures.
i.e. Fact: “Johnny cheated on his wife with Jessica,” Opinion: “Johnny is a terrible person,” Mixed: “I hate how much Johnny cheats on his wife.”
“Before she went on vacation, Kat requested that Alice bring a variety of illegal drugs across the border for her (some recreational, some for productivity). Alice argued that this would be dangerous for her personally, but Emerson and Kat reportedly argued that it is not dangerous at all and was “absolutely risk-free” ”
He very obviously is one. As habryka points out, he has a WP entry backed by quite a few sources about him, specifically. He has an entire 5400-word New Yorker profile about him, which is just one of several you can grab from the WP entry (eg. Bloomberg). For comparison, I don’t think even Eliezer has gotten an entire New Yorker profile yet! If this is not a ‘public figure’, please do explain what you think it would take. Does he need a New York Times profile as well? (I regret to report that he only has 1 or 2 paragraphs thus far.)
Now, I am no particular fan of decreeing people ‘public figures’ who have not particularly sought out fame (and would not appreciate becoming a ‘public figure’ myself); however, most people would say that by the time you have been giving speeches to universities or agreeing to let a New Yorker journalist trail you around for a few months for a profile to boost your fame even further, it is safe to say that you have probably long since crossed whatever nebulous line divides ‘private’ from ‘public figure’.
Emerson Spartz has a Wikipedia article, and the critique is highly relevant to him in-particular. My best understanding is that Emerson is a public figure for the purpose of this article (though not necessarily for the purpose of all articles), but it doesn’t seem super clear cut to me.