
Man Awarded $150,000 After Facebook Post Ruined His Life - breitling
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/150000-facebook-post-that-destroyed-a-former-deputy-principals-life-20160807-gqmxqf.html
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_archon_
OK, so a guy slandered another on Facebook, claiming that the hotel owner
housed pedophiles. This was found to be untrue, however the slanderer wouldn't
retract his statements. Anyway, in the meantime, the hotel owner was
threatened by local IRL internet white knights, to the point that he decided
to move away. Now he's won damages for all this.

This seems like the proper course of the legal system... I don't see why it's
relevant on more than a local level.

It's interesting, however, how little it takes to whip up small-minded people
into a fervor. A simple (false) facebook post has enough people losing their
capacity for rational thought that the target has to leave town.

Also, I love the implication that ex-cons shouldn't be able to ride on public
transit. "Look everybody, this guy's trying to live in a lawful manner after
leaving the (penal/rehabilitative) system! Even though the closest apartment
he could both get and afford is across town from the only job he could get, he
shouldn't be allowed on the bus like any other paying customer!"

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headShrinker
While your post is sympathetic to Mister Rothe, let's not leave out the most
heinous part of the story.

> Afterwards, Mr Rothe was the subject of a brutal bashing that left him
> hospitalised for six months

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deevus
Is it just me, or is $150,000 compensation not nearly enough?

~~~
5asbqu90s1
I'm not sure what the correct damages are. But one thing to consider is that
the people who assaulted and threatened him probably owe damages too (and
would even if the accusations were true). So the $150,000 owed by the poster
of the thread is not necessarily supposed to compensate him for all the
damages he suffered.

~~~
cardiffspaceman
This man was the primary cause of the damage and if there was some way that
others owed part of the damages he, the defendant, could always sue the
others.

