Plaintiff sued Defendant who published a picture claiming that her husband, X, was due to marry another woman, i.e. that he was single. This was after X had claimed it to be the case.
Plaintiff claimed that this implied that she was living “in a state of immoral cohabitation” with a single man.
CA found for Plaintiff.
It is possible to defame people indirectly. E.g. If I claim that X is illegitimate, this defames X’s parents indirectly.
Similarly to claim that a man is single is libelous of his wife.
It is no defence to say that Defendant did not know of Plaintiff’s existence since the publisher must bear the risk fo inferences reasonably drawn from his words.
Liability for libel “does not depend on the intention of the defamer; but on the fact of defamation.
The Newspaper is paying a price for failing to inquire as to the truth.
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