Gratuitous Defamatory Tweets About Plaintiff Not Protected As A Matter Of Public Interest

The internet and social media have spawned much civil litigation in the area of defamation. There is no cost to obtaining a Twitter account, for example, and to "tweeting" out a widely-viewed post. For those interested in political issues, Twitter provides an individual with their soapbox to express their opinions and to attempt to hold others, such as elected politicians, to account. However, users sometimes convert their soapboxes into platforms from which to launch broad and unfounded personal attacks against others falsely wrapped in the context of debate over matters of public interest. In the law of defamation, such an attack will not be easily protected when the speaker seeks to protect himself or herself from a defamation claim.