I’ve heard it said here that opinons are protected speech. Does this mean that if I put a review of a movie, or restaurant, or whatever on a website, I cannot be sued over that opinion? Or, at least, would such a lawsuit have any chance in hell of succeeding?
This question has come up because I am considering starting up such a website, and my partner is concerned about the possibility of lawsuits against our personal assets if some restaurant owner gets a bug up his ass. Protecting our assets would require setting up a corporation, which is way more work than I intended to put into this little venture.
You should be able to look up the basics about slander and libel on line or at the library. You should be able to get a good general understanding and put your mind at ease.
You have to be careful about “facts” and “opinions” and be sure to keep them distinct and clear.
Example:
“I thought the meal was disgusting because the meat tasted too gamey for my liking.”
Is quite different from:
“I was so disgusting, it must be horse meat!”
The former is a subjective opinion, the latter is an unsubstantiated claim that they serve illegal meat. (You don’t know if it’s horse meat or not, and if it’s not then you’ve lied and your lie can hurt their business – that is slander.)
If a fact is true, then you can not be sued for slander, not matter how damaging the turth may be to someone’s reputarion. E.g. If they really are serving horse meat, your comment is fine.
So read up and then go on a review reading binge to see how a good review is structured. There are many good guides for writing critically.
I found an instance of this in Bennett Cerf’s book Try and Stop Me (Simon & Schuster, 1944).
In a chapter about journalist-critic Heywood Broun, who died in 1939, Cerf noted that for the most part Broun’s reviews were positive. However, in the case of an actor named Geoffrey Steyne, Brown “allowed that Steyne was the worst actor on the American stage.” Steyne sued Broun for libel. Theatrical people, and critics in general, watched the case closely; a dangerous precedent could be set if the actor won. But the case was dismissed. The next time Broun reviewed a play Steyne was in, the critic did not even mention his adversary until the very end of his column, where he said “Mr. Steyne’s performanice was not up to its usual standard.” 