Actual libel (not the fake kind)

Here is an example of actual legally actionable libel.

This is real libel. Not the fake kind. Not the “my feelings were hurt by the unkind words you used to characterize me” kind.

The kind that Kyle Rittenhouse could win in court over. It's notoriously hard to win a libel case under US law, and that's a good thing.

How do I know anything about US libel law? Because I started my career as a newspaper reporter, and this knowledge was a basic requirement of the job.

What is required to win a libel case is to prove 'actual malice' and knowing, conscious disregard of the truth.

Jeff Tiedrich's Substack meets that threshhold. He calls Rittenhouse a murderer. Tiedrich knows consciously that he is not, he knows that the courts have found Rittenhouse not guilty, and Tiedrich knows and intends to make use of the socially and legally damaging consequences of being seen as a murderer.

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