False Light Privacy

Front 1

what is meant by "false light"?

Back 1

something false was published that caused the plaintiff to suffer embarrassment or humiliation

Front 2

how can "fictionalization" and "distortion" put someone in a false light? examples?

Back 2

fictionalization is purposely distorting the truth for dramatic purposes

example - story in the Sun tabloid about 101 year old lady who had a baby and used a picture of a random old woman, she sued and won

Front 3

what is meant by "highly offensive to a reasonable person"? how do the courts determine offensive material?

example - Cibenko vs Worth Publishers

Back 3

reasonable person standard, not someone who is overly sensitive

Cibenko vs Worth Publishers - police officer sued because of the picture of him in a sociology book portrayed him as racist, he lost the case because the text did not show he was racist

Front 4

what is meant by fault? who has to prove fault?

Back 4

fault is reckless disregard for the truth

plaintiff has to prove fault

Front 5

what's the difference between the tort of libel and the tort of false light privacy?

Back 5

in libel cases, must prove actual malice

libel has to do with reputation, false light has to do with embarrassment/humiliation

Front 6

what is the significance in Time, Inc. v Hill?

Back 6

Hill family was held hostage by convicts, Time magazine published a story about it which made it sound like they were much more tortured than they actually were, Hill family sued for false light

because of this case, plaintiffs must prove fault in false light cases