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Last week I found out from Robin Yassin-Kassab that the article I had
written for the forthcoming issue of Critical Muslim had to be dropped
upon the instructions of Hurst Publishers. My article as well as one
taking on George Galloway was considered to be an invitation to a libel
suit.
British libel law favors the accuser since the burden of proof falls on
the author of an article. In other words, Hurst would have had to spend
money on a legal defense aimed at showing my article did not defame
someone like Yale professor David Bromwich who has developed a second
career as a Bashar al-Assad apologist (okay, go ahead and sue me now,
motherfuckers.)
I think that Robin was a lot more upset than me. I expect very little
from print publishers and generally prefer to write for online
publications. In fact, despite my profound admiration for the work that
Robin and co-editor Ziauddin Sardar as well as my willingness to write
for them in the future, my blog gets far more traffic than the print
edition of CM. To this date, the Unrepentant Marxist has gotten
3,595,480 views and averages about 40,000 per month. For some writers, a
print publication is proof that you are a real writer—something that
amounts in my eyes to the diplomas the Wizard of Oz hands out to
Dorothy’s companions. Looking at the op-ed page of the NY Times on most
days, I can say that being in print is no guarantee that you have
something to say.
In any case, here is the article. You be the judge.
full:
http://louisproyect.org/2014/06/04/i-run-afoul-of-stringent-british-libel-laws/
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