Carole Cadwalladr Profile picture
Jun 3, 2022 11 tweets 3 min read Read on X
You have not been sued for libel.

I have.

There are many things I have wanted to say in the last 6 weeks of #DeppvHeard

But I haven't.

Because whatever I say will be used to attack not just me but others too.

Because that's how libel works. That's the whole point of it.
1/
You have not been sued for libel.

So you'll not understand how it's not just designed to silence you. Although it does. But also to destroy you. Which it does too.

It's not a pissy business dispute. It's a full-frontal multi-million quid existential assault. On who you are.
2/
You have not been sued for libel.

Because it is a rich man's sport. That only rich men play. Because only millionaires get to have 'reputations' in the age of the internet. Sticks & stones, pal, you just have to suck it up.
3/
You have not been sued for libel.

So, you don't understand how it's not just the trial or an act or an event, it's a process that goes on over years. It's a toxin that enters your central nervous system slowly & insidiously, until one day you can't move your limbs.
4/
You have not been sued for libel.

So you won't understand how it scares the very institutions that are meant to protect us. Even the liberal media orgs that published the goddamn words. *Especially* the liberal media orgs. Democracy dies in darkness? All the lolz to that.
5/
You have not been sued for libel.

You won't know how every step of the litigation fuels more social media abuse. Cos that's the whole point of it. You won't know how that shit sticks. Even with people you know. You won't know how the rage & unfairness seeps into your bones.
6/
You have not been sued for libel.

You have not been trapped inside the airless machinery of the legal process. You've not been forced to hand your personal messages against your will in the certain knowledge that anything you've ever said can & will be used against you.
7/
You have not been sued for libel.

But you may be a woman online. So you know how that goes. You communicate via platforms that optimise for virality - aka misogyny. You've seen what happens to women on the internet. You know what happens if they step out of line.
8/
You have not been sued for libel.

So you have not experienced your peers writing endless crap about #WagathaChristie while remaining stone cold silent even as they burn witches in pyres beneath your windows.
9/
You have not been sued for libel.

I'm speaking for no-one other than myself here. Because that's the first thing you'll learn: that you have to speak for yourself. Because no-one else will.

And over time, you'll realise that there's not even any point in that either.
10/
You have not been sued for libel.

But I have.

I'm still awaiting my verdict. But if my trial had been live-streamed, I'm pretty sure that I, too, would have been burned at the stake.

And I suspect, I wouldn’t just be broken. I’d probably be dead.
11/

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Carole Cadwalladr

Carole Cadwalladr Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @carolecadwalla

May 23, 2023
NEW: I'm seeking permission to appeal in the Supreme Court. There's no meaningful free expression in this country if after proving your speech is lawful, you're hit with £££ costs: a devastating ruling that will chill public interest journalism
by @_EmmaGH
theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/m…
This was filed today in the Court of Appeal. If the Supreme Court rejects it, we believe there’s a strong case to take it to the European Court of Human Rights. ImageImageImageImage
Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights puts an obligation on states to ensure freedom of expression. According to the ruling in this case, it's very far from free: even if you can prove your speech is lawful, it'll still cost you hundreds of thousands of pounds...
Read 5 tweets
Feb 28, 2023
The Court of Appeal has ruled.

I've won on 2 of 3 important grounds of principle.

Most importantly, the landmark public interest ruling is intact. The judge's findings of fact are intact. The original judgment holds.

The court found in favour of Banks on a single point
1/
It has ruled that after the NCA concluded its investigation in April 2020, the continued publication of the TED talk caused him serious harm

Only guess what? That 'continued publication' has nothing to do with me! I'm not the publisher. And the court even *acknowledges* this.
2/
The judgment clearly underlines *exactly* why this is a SLAPP. Why didn't Banks sue TED? Or @ObserverUK which first published the words?

And now I've been held *personally* liable for a video published by media org in a foreign jurisdiction protected by the first amendment
3/
Read 8 tweets
Jan 22, 2023
It's been a long time but v happy to be back in @ObserverUK today with 2 pieces, both close to my heart. And to launch a new project with @allthecitizens.

1/ An astonishing new claim that MI5 refused to investigate Russian spy's infiltration of Tory party
theguardian.com/politics/2023/…
2/ Delighted to profile the fierce & brilliant @pevchikh for @ObsNewReview. If you've seen the Navalny doc, she's the woman sitting by Navalny's side as he calls one of his FSB poisoners & gets him to confess to Novichoking his underpants.
theguardian.com/world/2023/jan…
3/ Finally, the story of how the Kremlin captured Britain. And how the UK government covered it up. If you've wondered why no British broadcaster has told the real story behind the Russia Report, please watch this & consider contributing.

Read 5 tweets
Jul 17, 2022
My jaw hit the floor when I discovered Boris Johnson left an emergency NATO meeting after the Kremlin’s chemical warfare attack on Britain & flew to an off-the-books meeting with an ex-KGB spy.

Yours should too.

This is how it happened.
1/

theguardian.com/politics/2022/…
In July 2019, Johnson had just been made PM. And @nickhopkinsnews published 2 extraordinary stories about Foreign Secretary Johnson flying from a NATO meeting to a party in Italy at the height of the Skripal crisis.

2/
theguardian.com/politics/2019/…
The party was at Evgeny Lebedev’s villa. The owner of Independent & Evening Standard.

Hopkins’s first story suggested he’d given his security detail the slip to fly to Italy. Then a Guardian reader supplied photos of him leaving: hungover & dishevelled
3/ Image
Read 17 tweets
Jun 19, 2022
It did almost crush me.

The only reason it didn't is because of my amazing lawyers & the generosity of 28,887 people.

But here's what you don't know. The judgment is *extraordinary*. 117 pages of FACTS.

About Russia, Brexit & the man who funded it.
1/
theguardian.com/uk-news/commen…
I was blown away when I read it.

To judge the case on public interest, Mrs Justice Steyn first had to judge if Arron Banks had - as I alleged - lied.

To do so, she examined his relationship with the Russian govt in forensic detail.

We now have this all on public record.
2/
This is what I claimed was the key lie.

The public statement Arron Banks made on the day the Electoral Commission opened its investigation into his Brexit donation.

He said his "sole involvement with 'the Russians' was a boozy 6 hour lunch".

I said this was a lie.
3/
Read 14 tweets
Jun 13, 2022
It hasn’t sunk in yet but…SOME NEWS.

I am so profoundly grateful & relieved.

Thank you to the judge, my stellar legal team & the 29,000 people who contributed to my legal defence fund. I literally couldn’t have done it without you 🙏🙏🙏

theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/j…
I haven't read the judgment yet but what I can say that the last 3 years have been extraordinarily difficult. Fighting this has been a crushing, debilitating, all-consuming experience that I sincerely hope no other journalist ever has to go through.
2/
judiciary.uk/judgments/bank…
The fact that his case was brought clearly shows how our libel laws favour the rich & powerful. I was only able to defend myself because of the incredibly generous support of the public. But this judgment is a huge victory for public interest journalism.
3/
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(