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Defamation Investigations: A Big Leap in Fighting Back

By Doug Bania
November 01, 2021

Sticks and stones may break bones, but defamatory words on the Internet can break a brand.

Gone are the days when rude remarks muttered around water coolers or posted in local papers have their moment and then quickly fade from the public's memory with little to no lasting impact. Today, thanks to the Internet, disgruntled customers, scorned relationship partners and business rivals have unprecedented power to significantly affect a brand or celebrity's reputation with damaging comments on public review sites, blasts on social media, or articles that go viral when picked up by a wider news network and distributed for all to see.

In the current atmosphere where consumers are primed to "cancel" a business or celebrity that is perceived as going against their values, spurious and inflammatory statements made online can lead to a serious and lasting impact on a brand's bottom line. Yet, at the same time, Internet tools are becoming more sophisticated in measuring the impact of these disparaging and defamatory statements, paving the way for affected business owners and celebrities to fight back by filing defamation suits seeking to recover damages for the harm to their reputation and brand value.

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