Bruce Lehrmann has lost his defamation suit against Channel Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson after the media defendants proved, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped his colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019. After a trial lasting around a month, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee – an experienced defamation judge – concluded that both Lehrmann and Higgins had credibility issues, but ultimately he was persuaded that Lehrmann raped Higgins, as she’d alleged and he’d denied. Read more: Why was Bruce Lehrmann given the all-clear to sue media for defamation? A media ..read more

Just when we thought the defamation action brought by Bruce Lehrmann against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over their February 2021 report on The Project was about to be finalised, another twist appeared. Justice Michael Lee was to hand down his decision on the matter, which went to trial for a month last year, on Thursday morning. That’s now been delayed. The reason? Lawyers for Network Ten were successful in convincing the Federal Court it should hear fresh evidence not raised during the trial. This course of events puts the credibility of not just the trial witnesses under the ..read more

Judge Lewis Kaplan, right, admonishes Donald Trump and his attorney Alina Habba in court. Elizabeth Williams/AP Former President Donald Trump is in court again, this time in his second trial for defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll. In the first trial, which ended in May 2023, a federal jury found Trump had “sexually abused” her and defamed her when he denied her allegations and ordered him to pay US$5 million in damages. A jury in this trial will determine whether he needs to pay more for additional defamation, and how much. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has spoken to both Trump and Alina ..read more

Shutterstock Two former coordinators of one of Indonesia’s most prominent human rights organisations have escaped conviction in a defamation case brought by a powerful government minister. While their astonishing acquittal is welcome, the case marked a bleak new low for freedom of expression in one of the world’s largest democracies. Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti, who had coordinated the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), were accused of defamation by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. Luhut’s statements made ..read more

Social media sites have given many the potential to reach millions of people instantly. With that reach, the risks and impacts of defamation can be far greater. (Shutterstock) Infidelity and deception have always been part of dating and relationships. Traditionally managed privately between the parties or through legal processes, these issues have recently been co-opted by online vigilante communities that shame daters — men in particular — who behave badly. But are these online communities about more than shaming? Do they also safeguard women from getting exploited or hurt? These questions ar ..read more

To trace the spectacular fall from grace of Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, VC, you may face a dilemma – which newly released book to read? Nine investigative journalist Nick McKenzie, and his mentor, veteran investigative reporter, Chris Masters, have both written rival book-length accounts of their investigation into the fallen war hero. Review: Crossing the Line: the Inside Story of Murders, Lies and a Fallen Hero – Nick McKenzie (Hachette) Flawed Hero: Truth, Lies and War Crimes – Chris Masters (Allen and Unwin) Both McKenzie’s Crossing the Line: the Inside St ..read more

Rudy Giuliani admits to lying but says the Constitution protects him. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky In his response to a lawsuit filed by two Georgia election workers who said Rudy Giuliani harmed them by falsely alleging they mishandled ballots in the 2020 presidential election, Giuliani has admitted lying. But he says the women suffered no harm – and claims that his lies are protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Conversation U.S. has published several articles by scholars explaining what the First Amendment – which, broadly speaking, protects freedom of speech and the pr ..read more

Today, Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko handed down his long-awaited judgment in the defamation case that Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living former SAS soldier, brought against the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times. The civil trial ended in July 2022 after an astonishing 110 days of evidence and legal submissions. The case was also interrupted by COVID lockdowns. Besanko determined the newspapers did establish the “substantial truth” of some of the allegations, though not of others. He concluded that in light of these findings, “each proceeding must b ..read more

Former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann has been given the all-clear to against several media outlets and journalists regarding reporting about Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations. Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence, and no finding has been made against him. The rape trial was abandoned last year following juror misconduct, and a second trial was not pursued amid fears for Higgins’ mental health. Lehrmann is suing the Ten Network and former presenter of The Project Lisa Wilkinson, as well as News Life Media (the publisher of news.com.au) and journalist Samantha Maiden. In New Sout ..read more

Late last week, Lachlan Murdoch dropped his defamation claim against key figures behind online publication Crikey. Murdoch had a strong case. So why would he choose to drop it? Read more: Why Fox News' settlement with Dominion Voting Systems is good news for all media outlets The facts of the case For those under a rock: Lachlan Murdoch is the son of Rupert. He is an Aussie-American-Brit leading News Corp and Fox Corporation. His empire includes Fox News in the US and Sky News in Australia. Murdoch was suing over a June 2022 article on the subject of the January 6 insurrection at the US Capit ..read more