All the Rumors are True: Verification, Actual Malice, and Celebrity Gossip
In 2022, the rapper Cardi B famously won a defamation lawsuit against celebrity-gossip vlogger Tasha K, who had posted more than 30 videos spreading rumors about Cardi B’s lifestyle, drug use and health. The U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia ruled in Cardi B’s favor for a judgement of $4 million. Predictably, Tasha K appealed, saying that “actual malice“ — required to prove defamation — was not shown.
Proving defamation for celebrities is difficult because they are omnipresent in the public eye, and actual news is conflated with social media. In fact, the Pew Research Center says that nearly half of all Americans rely on social media for their daily news. Given this reality of technology’s role in abetting the spread of false information, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has recently argued that the current state of digital affairs, in a world where gossip is transactional and lucrative, the actual malice standard deserves reconsideration.
In a recent research article, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Associate Professor of Media Production, Management, and Technology Jasmine McNealy explored celebrity gossip, defamation and social technology using the Cardi B v. Tasha K (Almanzar v. Kebe) case as a lens.
McNealy began by examining the concept of actual malice in defamation cases involving public figures. This heightened standard, established in landmark cases like New York Times v. Sullivan, requires public figures to prove that false statements were made with knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.
Delving into the evolution of media technology and its impact on the spread of information, both true and false, McNealy highlighted how social media platforms and gossip sites have their own fact-checking and editorial cultures, which, while different from traditional newsrooms, still offer some controls for information distribution.
Contrary to Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch’s assertion that fact-checking is no longer paramount in the digital age, McNealy argued that gossip sites and social media users often engage in sophisticated forms of verification. She pointed to the concept of “receipts” in gossip culture, where audiences demand evidence to support claims made about celebrities.
McNealy also explored the economic incentives behind celebrity gossip, noting that channels like Tasha K’s can earn significant income through platform monetization. However, she argued that this economic interest doesn’t necessarily negate the practice of verification, as engagement and views often increase when gossipers provide evidence for their claims.
McNealy suggests that courts should consider these new cultures of verification when examining evidence in public figure defamation cases. She contends that while the media landscape has changed, celebrities still have the power to command media attention and correct falsehoods.
In conclusion, McNealy argued that the rationale for the actual malice standard remains valid: protecting open and robust debate about matters of public interest. She suggests that future cases similar to Cardi B v. Tasha K could provide courts with the opportunity to consider modern verification practices in the context of celebrity gossip and defamation law.
The original article, “All the Rumors are True: Verification, Actual Malice, and Celebrity Gossip,” was published in Missouri Law Review, Volume 88, Issue 3, Summer 2023.
Author: Jasmine McNealy.
This summary was written by Gigi Marino.
