5A Defamation : Intentional/ Accidental Defamation
Current affairs programmes and films will often intentionally broadcast defamatory allegations about individuals and/ or companies. This will only occur after a thorough investigation by the programme-makers and a detailed examination of the evidence by the broadcaster and its editorial and legal advisors. However, it is possible to libel a person or a company accidentally. The juxtaposition of someone's picture next to a piece of sync or commentary may accidentally libel that person. For example, showing an entirely innocent member of the public walking through Customs, juxtaposed with a piece of commentary or sync about the illegal importation of drugs may well give the false impression that the person shown is a drug smuggler. This would amount to a libel of that person. Great care must be taken to avoid such accidental libels.
A common cause of claims for libel is the incorrect use of photographs in connection with particular stories e.g. individuals whose photographs have mistakenly been used in news programmes, in connection with terrorist offences, have sued and received substantial damages. It is, therefore, vital that producers take great care to ensure that the right photographs illustrate a story and that identified individuals are indeed involved with the story under discussion.