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Damages awarded in fake Facebook libel case

July 24th, 2008 by Scott Marks

A guy throws a party and a couple of uninvited guests steal away to his computer room to create a phony Facebook account that lists libelous info pertaining to the whereabouts, activities, birthday and relationship status of the host’s former school chum. The rascally gate-crashers also take time to impugn the friend’s sexuality and political beliefs.

That was Grant Raphael’s defense in a landmark libel suit , the first defamation case involving Facebook in the UK.

The judge didn’t buy it ruling that Rapheal’s argument was “built on lies.” Mathew Firsht has been awarded £22,000 in damages against his former friend and business associate. Times on Line reports, ” Deputy Judge Richard Parkes QC awarded Mr Firsht £15,000 for libel and £2,000 for breach of privacy. Mr Firsht’s company, which arranges audiences for shows such as Big Brother and Ready Steady Cook, was also awarded for £5,000 for libel.”

Mr. Firsht sued Mr. Raphael for creating the fake profile which claimed that Mr. Firsht was “looking for whatever I can get” in a relationship. Mr. Raphael had also signed the profile up to various groups on Facebook, including “Gay in the Wood…Borehamwood” and “Gay Jews in London.’”

Now in his late 30s, Firsht and Raphael became good friends in Brighton, where they went to school together. After a falling out, Firsht’s company thrived while Raphael, a freelance cameraman, floundered. The difference between the two men is that Raphael held a grudge.

The judge called Raphael’s testimony, ““glib and loquacious, always prepared, it seemed to me, to talk his way out of a difficulty, with no apparent insight into the implausibility of some of his answers.” He was flummoxed over Mr. Raphael’s argument that a party-crasher stumbled into his flat for the first time, used his computer for more than an hour, without being observed, to create a false and hurtful profile containing information that only someone associated with Mr. Raphael could have known.

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Filed Under Rants

False Facebook profile sparks landmark libel suit

June 30th, 2008 by Scott Marks

The managing director of a British company that finds audiences for TV and radios shows appears to have attracted a one man following.

Grant Rapheal is accused of posted a false profile of his old schoolchum Applausestore.com’s Mathew Firsht on the social networking website Facebook. A fake entry was posted listing Firsht’s personal details and listing a bunch of gay groups that he was signed up to. Firsht is heterosexual.

For a kick, the ad also falsely claimed he was ‘Looking for whatever I can get’ in terms of a relationship.

Yesterday, Raphael’s prank initiated a landmark High Court claim for damages. According to thisislondon.co.uk, “Mr Firsht is suing old schoolfriend Grant Rapheal for libel and misuse of private information in what is believed to be the first defamation case involving Facebook in the UK.”

During Monday’s hearing Firsht’s lawyer Lorna Skinner listed the private information including his whereabouts, activities, birthday and relationship status. To underscore the latter, Firsht was signed up the Facebook groups ‘Gay in the Wood. . . Borehamwood’ and ‘Gay Jews in London.’ He was not, however, a member in good standing of ‘Gay Cocken Affan Yom.’

In addition, Ms. Skinner claims that her client was defamed by additional allegations that he owed large sums of money which he attempted to lie his way out of as well as smears that made Matthew’s Applausestore.com sound Firsh*t.

Miss Skinner continued: ‘Mr Firsht values his privacy highly. It was the gross invasion of his privacy, namely having his personal details, including false details concerning his sexuality, laid bare for all to see that caused him the most distress.’

The two friends had a severe falling out in 2000 that, according to Ms. Skinner, left Mr. Raphael harboring an enormous grudge. She also claimed that Raphael had access to Firsht that “only a very limited number of people would.”

Facebook took off in 2006 and is the seventh most popular site on the internet! Last month alone, it attracted 129.3million visitors. I’m on Facebook, but I’m not sure I get it. It just seems like a lot of silly games and quizzes, but, hey, it’s the closest I’ll ever get to really being friends with Roger Corman.

And it’s okay to goof on me for only having 46 friends. If you can count more friends than you’ve got fingers on one hand, you shouldn’t operate a punch press.

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