XXVⅢ
1.Generally speaking, speech can be divided into “statement of fact”and “expression of opinion”.The criteria for these two situations are different when determining whether speech violates the “right of reputation”.The statement of facts should conform to the objective situation and should not be intentionally distorted or fabricated, otherwise there may be a possibility of defamation; the expression of opinions shall be objective and fair, and derogatory words shall not be used at will, otherwise it may constitute an insult.
2.The media has the right to conduct proper supervision of public opinion, and has the right to comment and even criticize popular social issues.Speeches the media has made should be legally protected as long as they do not break laws.However, when publishing news reports and documentary works, the media shall be real, accurate, and fair.If the media exceeds the boundaries of its rights, for example, by insulting or slandering someone due to intentional or negligent actions, which is serious enough to lower the social evaluation of others, it will cause an infringement of the someone’s reputation.
Case 1: Company Y has organized the Golden Copier Award Selection event on a social platform.The “Golden Copier Award” is sarcastic and intended to satirize that the winner’s work is a plagiarism.In the selection process, Company Y directly took G as one of the candidates for selection, and repeatedly published blog posts about G’s plagiarism.However, G believes that there is no plagiarism, and the behavior of Company Y makes the relevant public have a negative impression of him.Therefore, G sued to the court and claimed that Company Y violated her right of reputation.Company Y claims that it is a review of objective facts.The original purpose of holding the selection event was not to award prizes,but to comment, explain and make suggestions about a certain phenomenon in society.((2019) Jing 01 Min Zhong No.6726)
The court held that: Company Y violated G’s right of reputation.Infringement of reputation means making a derogatory evaluation of someone’s morality, prestige or credit.The following factors determine whether an action constitutes infringement of the right of reputation:whether there is actual damage to the victim’s reputation; whether the infringer violated the law; whether there is a causal relationship between the illegal acts and the consequences of the damage; and whether the infringer has subjective fault.(https://www.daowen.com)
Specifically, the determination of whether speech constitutes an infringement of the right to reputation varies according to the two situations of “statement of fact” and “expression of opinion”.The former refers to a certain specific process or state of affairs that is stated in the past or present, and the latter refers to expressing one’s own opinion or position on things.When presenting the facts, the content should be basically in line with the objective situation, and should not be intentionally distorted or fabricated, otherwise there may be a possibility of defamation; when expressing opinions, it should be generally objective and fair, discuss the matter, and should not arbitrarily use insulting or derogatory words to carry out personal attacks, otherwise there may be an insult.The media has the right to conduct proper supervision of public opinion.Speeches the media has made should be legally protected as long as they do not break laws.However, when publishing news reports and documentary works, the media shall be real, accurate, and fair.If the media exceeds the boundaries of its rights, for example, by insulting or slandering someone due to intentional or negligent actions, which is serious enough to lower the social evaluation of others, it will cause an infringement of that person’s reputation.
In this case, Company Y failed to provide evidence that can prove whether G indeed plagiarized another’s work, and there was no final conclusion about the copyright ownership of the work.Under this circumstance, Company Y can discuss and make comments on the matter.However, carrying out personal attacks by using insulting and derogatory language causally constitutes an insult to G’s personality.Furthermore,in the case where it is uncertain whether G infringed the copyright of others, the remarks of G’s plagiarism made by Company Y in this regard may also infringe G’s reputation.
Case 2: A certain journal published an article entitled “We Were Scammed on a Dating Website” and introduced the article as a cover story on the cover of the journal.The article uses news surveys to describe the frequent occurrence of fraud on a Chinese dating website S, causing huge losses to many members.The operating company of website S believed that the article had damaged the reputation of the company and filed a lawsuit, asking the company publishing this journal to stop infringement, restore reputation, and compensate for losses.((2015) Yi Zhong Min Zhong Zi No.06466)
The court held that: News media must ensure the authenticity of news reports, adhere to the principles of neutrality and objectivity, and try to report views from different positions.Although part of the content of the article in the journal quotes other reports or other people’s comments,from the perspective of the organization of the news materials, the article concentratedly invoked the negative evaluation of website S.Views that lack the opposite position may lead readers to have a prejudice and inf luence the independent judgment of the relevant public.From the title to the content, the article involved has not only negatively inclined reports,but also lacks the opposite standpoint.The terms are obviously derogatory and the directions are clear, which inevitably leads readers to draw a negative conclusion, affects public perception and evaluation, and causes the reputation of website S to be damaged.It should be considered as infringing the reputation of the operating company of website S.