First, slander is something defamatory that someone says.
Libel is what you call a defamatory comment that is printed. So a poster would be a libel since it is printed.
Second, the story on the VO website about a bunch of posters contains an editorial opinion, not a fact, when it says that the posters “slander” the Premier.
“Who wants Kathy Dunderdale as Premier?” is hardly defamatory. The last line on the poster is strong, saying that the Premier is a “source of shame for us all.”
Unless the bad words on the poster that you edited out for the website say something really awful, it sure doesn’t look like you have something defamatory. As it turns out, the words are reputedly “Liar, Bully, and Fool”.
Strong but it is still looking like an opinion and not a defamation.
Best thing for VOCM to do: leave the opinions to others, like say a lawyer or a judge, and stick to reporting the news.
Third, this poster seems to be something we could reasonably expect after last week’s events. That doesn’t mean it is right. It just means that the botched attack on Gerry Rogers and the Facebook group might just be getting some people a bit more riled up than they would be otherwise.
-srbp-
