: Re: Writing an article avoiding Libel I will be creating a blog article that talks about Illuminati in our local country. I will be talking about the "organization's" role in making specific artists
There is no way to absolutely prevent lawsuits; if you're going to cover controversial topics and name names, there's a risk that people will get upset and seek to take action. But there are some things you can do to "write defensively", so to speak. Following are some things I was taught in college in a journalism context.
Attribute claims to sources. Don't just say "so-and-so secretly works for this organization"; show how you know. "According to {the organization boss, last year's tax filing, such-and-such article in the newspaper...}, this person wroks for...". Don't originate claims if you can instead report them.
Have sources. Often the truth is a defense against libel or slander, so if you do get sued, being able to prove what you said will be enormously helpful.
If you need to make claims of your own, phrase them so as to show a path from what you know to your conclusion. Don't just assert. "We know X and Y, and in other cases X and Y mean Z, and it seems to me that Z is possible here...". Sometimes this involves "weasel words" ("maybe", "it appears", etc) and that can be distasteful. I'm not saying that you shouldn't make strong assertions of fact; I'm saying that you should choose when it's important enough to do so.
Unless your specific goal is some sort of polemic or other "rile people up" presentation, keep the rhetoric and emotions in check. If your presentation sounds calm and logical it may upset fewer people. Nobody likes to feel like he's being ranted about.
More posts by @Turnbaugh521
: If you are one of those rare people who can write, straight through, without any major refactorings or changes of direction along the way, more power to you. But for many people, and IMO
: A good approach to show dialogues over radio communication? The novel's in first person. I'm working on a scene where there are five people dispersed on different floors of a building, all talking
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