Can I Libel someone if I switch their name?

What is the name of your state? New York

Let's say I hate a person named John Smith. So I go on a public message board where people know this person, and I start telling everyone about how horrible this person is, but instead of using the name John Smith, I used the name Sohn Jmith. I just switch the first characters of his first and last name. Then I say things like "Sohn Jmith is a liar. Do not trust Sohn Jmith, because Sohn will defraud you every chance he gets. ." Can John Smith sue me, or have I found a great way to tell everyone what a jerk John Smith is, without actually having to be worried about a lawsuit?

If it is still clear who you are talking about, despite the switched initials, I'd be putting some money aside to cover legal fees.

Can I Libel someone if I switch their name

Simple answer Yes!

By using the person's real name or by simply switching a few letters can get you in to serious trouble. Especially, if the person that you are slandering is aware of your actions (meaning that the person knows that you posted something on the internet for all to see).
My feeling is, most people with common sence and a reasonable amount of intelligence would not due such a stupid thing. Many people are not clear where this part of the law is concerned..

What Constitutes Slander/ Libel etc...

1. When a person makes statements that they know are absolutely untrue and no proof exists to substantiate their accusations.

2. The person making the false statements tells others and or/ publicly posts information on a web forum in a deliberate attempt to hurt, injure, and severley damage the reputation and charachter of the individual..

3. The person whom was slandered suffers in some way as a direct result of the lies that were told by this individual..

what does not Constitute Libel/ Slander..

1. If a person publicly makes statements or accusations about another person that may injure and damage their reputation, however,(this is the big difference) IF THE STATEMENTS OR CLAIMS ARE KNOWN TO BE TRUE AND POSSIBLY SOME SORT OF PROOF EXISTS... THEN THIS IS NO LIBEL OR SLANDER... YES MAYBE IT WAS NOT VERY NICE FOR THIS PERSON TO REPEAT AND GOSSIP ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE, BUT IT IS NOT GROUNDS FOR A LAWSUIT. A PERSON HAS THE RIGHT TO EXCERSISE THEIR "FREEDOM OF SPEECH"!! KEEP IN MIND IF THE STATEMENTS ARE KNOWN TO BE TRUE, IT IS NOT SLANDER OR LIBEL.... IT COULD BE THE PERSON MADE SOME BAD CHOICES OR DECISIONS IN THE LIFE AND SOMEONE HAPPEN TO FIND OUT..

You need to be careful from now on. Not only can a person be banned from a forum indefinately...but, if the person who was falsely libled can sue for damages..Attorneys can petition the Courts to have an IP number identified..... In the future if you need legal advice "Just stick to asking legal questions on these forums" save your angry comments for another time.. Or meet the person face to face to say what is on your mind..
Good Luck....

None of what I would post it a lie. It is 100% true. The problem is that there is no proof of it. People can get away with a lot when there are no cameras around, and it's just one person's word against another. Let's say you are in a gym with another person, and they do something to you, like shove you into a wall. There's no proof that happened, other than possible DNA from their hand on your shoulder, maybe. You know it happened, you know it's true, but if you tell people it happened, you can be sued by the attacker just because you have no proof. So if you could go on a message board and switch a few characters and tell everyone what happened, at least you could get some satisfaction out of it.

If there is no proof , it is as good as a lie.

I know; that's what sucks so much. That's why I have to resort to these tactics. The devil must be given his punishment.

joe_legal said:

I know; that's what sucks so much. That's why I have to resort to these tactics. The devil must be given his punishment.

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These tactics ,as described above, are what is going to get you in trouble.

You have to realize that if you are posting things in a manner that whomever your target audience is can determine of whom you speak, then you might as well just use his correct name. It will make no difference.

I want to make it as hard for them as possible to stop it. I only use public computers, where there are no cameras to videotape me. If I have to use a computer where there is a camera nearby, I wear a disguise. Once they sue one location I am using to remove their computers, I just find another public location. God Bless public access to the Internet!

Dude - get a life.

Can I sue you for libel?

joe_legal said:

What is the name of your state? New York

Let's say I hate a person named John Smith. So I go on a public message board where people know this person, and I start telling everyone about how horrible this person is, but instead of using the name John Smith, I used the name Sohn Jmith. I just switch the first characters of his first and last name. Then I say things like "Sohn Jmith is a liar. Do not trust Sohn Jmith, because Sohn will defraud you every chance he gets. ." Can John Smith sue me, or have I found a great way to tell everyone what a jerk John Smith is, without actually having to be worried about a lawsuit?

Click to expand...

If the "audience" would know that what you are writing is about "John Smith" rather than whatever made-up name you use, then you could still be held liable for defamation. Even if you use a fake name, if it is reasonably obvious who you are talking about, that may be suffcient to support a cause of action against you for defamation.

You say "may". Has it ever been done? All I can remember is an episode of the TV show Barney Miller, where the black cop writes a book containing characters that represent people he works with on an everyday basis, and one of the people the characters is based on, a lawyer, sues him, and wins the entire profits of the guy's book. The cop says he used a different name, but the lawyer still wins because his reputation was impugned. But that was only a TV show. Has this ever happened in real life? Is this why movies all have that disclaimer about the characters being purely fictional and any resemblance to real life people is only coincidental?

Can I Libel someone if I switch their name

Yes I agree!

You still need to be careful if you plan to slander someone using a public computer.. If the person finds out, depending on what you are saying about them and the details. It can still be traced back to you and you still could be sued...Keep that in mind.. Why don't you just forget about it and move on!...Vengence will get you nothing but trouble..

What you have found a great way to do, is screw up the remainder of your life.

Anyone who thinks they would not get sued for what you suggest is operating on only one and a half brain cells - about enough to run the engine, but not enough smarts to tie his own shoes.

Drop the whole idea unless you're independently wealthy and don't mind writing checks with lots of zeros on them.