Can I accuse someone of rape publicly

And have it counted as free speech

you can what you want, don't be surprised if you get punched in the face. Should you punch people in the face? no. you shouldn't intentionally slander someone.

I *shouldn't*, yes

However

Are slander and libel laws in violation of free speech.

for the most part, slander and libel are people against people

and if you can prove a slander or libel lawsuit, its basically saying the consequences of your speech have caused harm you are not responsible for.

you can say all you want to lead a riot. you still lead a riot.

its a fine line

which is why in the us, slander and libel are VERY hard to prove.

because you have to do more than prove they lied. you have to prove they KNEW it was a lie before hand.

So, lemme give a hypothetical scenario, okie?

You know that girl, Chloe Dykstra

Imagine everything she accused of Chris Hardwick doing turned out to be a lie

keep in mind 2 things, 1) this is my opinion. 2) in the US, "free speech" is only legally protected from the government.

free speech is a right. like every right it comes with responsabilities. you can abuse your free speech rights in a way that warrents state enforced punishment. it is better to let many people off the hook for unresponsable speech then punish a single person unjustly for it. where the line is drawn will not be where i want it to be, but where the elected representatives want it to be

Should she face *legal* consequences

There is anononymous slander though. You know 'I heard someone say'

You're looking at both criminal and civil problems here

Libel and defamation are not criminal

But, if you can prove damages and intent, you have a civil case and can sue

depends on your term legal. I think you should be able to SUE her, but unless she filed a false police statement, she should not be held criminally responsible

So, libel is technically free speech but you can be held financially responsible for it in civil court

In the case I've stated, Hardwick loses a ton of business, and a show of his gets cancelled

Does that count as damages

if there is enough evidence? then she should have to pay for those damages

And what should she repay for

And how

If he can prove he wouldn't have suffered those losses without the libel/defamation, then they definitely count as damages

but that would be between her and chris, with a third neutral party determining an appropriate middle ground.

And is her posting that medium article still free speech

It is free speech because it's not a criminal offense to lie about someone in the public space

Because you could lie due to ignorance or due to malevolence

But she had tort liability due to damages she caused from her actions

Which can trigger a lawsuit

think of it like this, with libel and slander: Its not the lie you are being sued for, its the action of intentionally causing harm to someone's livelihood.

@Grenade123 you're being sued for the losses caused by your actions

i don't word it like that, because speaking is the action, which is what is defended by free speech

in my opinion

If the actions cause no financial losses, you won't get anything by suing