Today my little sister sent me a newspaper publication which showed her picture at a friend’s party, wearing a top that showed a bit of cleavage, and the publishers wrote a lot of terrible things with specific reference to her chest. Can this publication be deemed as libel? And can we take action in court? Her name was not mentioned in the write up, just her picture.
Alasdair Taylor's Answer
The fact that your sister’s name was not mentioned would not preclude a claim, assuming she can be identified from the photograph.
Simple abuse isn’t necessarily defamatory. See:
http://www.channel4.com/producers-handbook/media-law/defamation/defamation-v-abuse
Even if the statements aren’t defamatory, they may be actionable upon some other basis (eg malicious falsehood, breach of privacy, breach of data protection law).
To get a clear answer to the question of whether you should take action here, you would need to show the material in question to a media lawyer.
