Defamation & reputation
Something untrue has been published about you
And it is now the first thing anyone finds when they search your name.
What to do now
The first few days matter more than almost anything after them
Most people’s instinct is to respond immediately — to reply to the post, to email the publisher, to put out their own version. Some of those instincts are right and some of them make the position considerably worse.
Preserve everything now
Screenshot it, with the URL and the date visible. Save the page. Note who has seen it and how you know. Material disappears, gets edited, or is quietly amended once a solicitor’s letter arrives, and evidence of what was actually published on what date is the foundation of the claim.
Do not respond publicly yet
A reply repeats the allegation to people who had not seen it, hands the publisher a fresh story, and can generate a defence that did not previously exist.
Do not threaten anything you have not taken advice on
A badly drafted threat is a gift: it can be published, it can look like an attempt to suppress legitimate criticism, and it can expose you to a claim of your own.
Note the date of first publication
A defamation claim must generally be brought within one year, and in libel that year runs from when the material was first published — not from when you found out about it.
The question that decides most claims
Not whether the statement is untrue. Whether it has caused serious harm to your reputation.
Since the Defamation Act 2013, a statement is not defamatory unless its publication has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm. The Supreme Court has confirmed that this is judged on the actual facts of the statement’s impact rather than on whether the words look damaging in the abstract.
In practice the question becomes: who saw it, who are they in relation to you, and what happened afterwards? A false allegation seen by twelve people who matter professionally can clear the threshold where the same words seen by thousands of strangers might not.
If you are claiming as a company
The test is higher again. A body trading for profit must show serious harm in the form of serious financial loss — lost contracts, cancelled orders, a measurable revenue effect. Reputational damage alone is not enough, and this is where most corporate claims fail.
This is why the first conversation is about evidence rather than outrage.
Where we act
Six kinds of reputation matter
01
Libel
Written and published material — articles, posts, emails, reviews, anything in permanent form.
02
Slander
Spoken statements. Harder to prove and subject to different rules, including on when time starts running.
03
Online defamation, reviews and social media
Anonymous accounts, fake reviews, forum posts and material that keeps resurfacing. Including applications to identify anonymous publishers and removal from search results.
04
Malicious falsehood
Untrue statements published maliciously that cause you financial loss, whether or not they damage your reputation. Sometimes available where a defamation claim is not.
05
Privacy, harassment and misuse of private information
Where the problem is not that the material is false but that it is private. A different claim, often a stronger one, and frequently overlooked.
06
Pre-publication advice and injunctions
When you know something is coming. The window is short and it closes on publication.
Outcomes
What you can realistically achieve
Removal or correction
What most clients actually want, and what a well-judged letter often achieves without proceedings.
An apology or a right of reply
Sometimes worth more than damages, because it is what the search results will show.
Damages
In defamation these compensate for harm to reputation and distress rather than being calculated from a formula.
An injunction
Before publication where there is time, or to restrain repetition afterwards.
Identification of an anonymous publisher
Frequently possible, and often the point at which the problem stops.
What you cannot realistically achieve is erasing something from the internet entirely. Anyone promising that is selling something.
Why clients instruct us
When it is not only defamation
Reputation problems rarely arrive alone.
The allegation came from your employer or a colleague
Then there may be an employment claim, a discrimination claim, or a whistleblowing detriment claim running alongside — and the reputational and employment strategies need to be decided together, because a settlement in one can foreclose the other.
The material is private rather than false
Misuse of private information and harassment are separate claims with different tests, and truth is no defence to either.
A regulator is involved
Where an allegation triggers a professional investigation, the reputational, regulatory and employment positions all interact.
Fees
What it costs
£400/hr
plus VAT, with a scope and estimate agreed before we start.
The first stage is usually a fixed fee: a review of the material, an assessment of whether the serious harm threshold is met, and a view on the realistic options. That is where most of the value is, and most matters are resolved by the letter that follows it rather than by proceedings.
Questions
Questions people ask us
How long do I have to bring a defamation claim?
One year. In libel, that year runs from when the material was first published — not from when you discovered it, which catches people out regularly. Slander and malicious falsehood can run from when you suffered financial loss, which may be later. The court has a discretion to extend, but it is exercised sparingly and is not something to plan around.
The post has been up for two years but they keep reposting it. Does that restart the clock?
Generally not. The single publication rule means a later publication of substantially the same material by the same publisher does not give you a fresh year. Publication by a different person is a different matter, and a materially different republication may be too.
What counts as serious harm?
Actual impact rather than how bad the words look. Who saw it, their relationship to you, and what followed. A false allegation of dishonesty seen by twenty people in your industry may well clear the threshold where the same words seen by strangers do not. If you are a company, you must go further and show serious financial loss.
It is on an anonymous account. Can anything be done?
Often, yes. There are court applications that require a platform to disclose what it knows about an account holder, and they succeed more often than people expect. In a good number of cases the application itself resolves the problem.
They say it is true. Does that end it?
Only if they can prove it. Truth is a complete defence, but the burden is on the publisher, and it must be substantially true of the meaning the statement actually conveys — which is frequently narrower or wider than the publisher intended. Honest opinion and publication in the public interest are separate defences with their own requirements.
Someone is publishing private things about me that are true. Is there anything I can do?
Possibly, and not through defamation. Misuse of private information and harassment are distinct claims, and truth is not a defence to either. This is a frequently missed route where the material is accurate but should never have been published.
Should I just reply and set the record straight?
Usually not, at least not yet. Replying repeats the allegation to people who had not seen it, can hand the publisher a fresh story, and may generate a defence. Preserve the evidence, take advice, then decide — sometimes a public response is exactly right, but it should be a decision rather than a reflex.
What will it cost?
The first stage — reviewing the material, assessing whether the serious harm threshold is met, and advising on options — is usually a fixed fee agreed in advance. Most matters are resolved by the letter that follows it. Proceedings are charged hourly at £400 plus VAT with a stage-by-stage estimate.
This page is general information, not legal advice. The one-year limitation period in defamation is strict — take advice on your own position without delay.
If this is urgent, call
Pre-publication and injunction matters are measured in hours. If something is about to be published, telephone rather than email.
No charge
A free 20-minute call
Tell us what has happened and we will tell you whether we can help, what it would involve and roughly what it would cost. No advice is given on this call and there is no charge for it.
£350 plus VAT
A paid strategy session
One hour with a partner, followed by a written summary of your position and options. For people who want proper advice without instructing a firm yet. Credited in full against your fees if you go on to instruct us.
Or reach us directly
We answer enquiries the same working day.