This is a story I wrote on bloggers and libel that appears in Saturday's Globe and Mail. The newspaper version is here. Thanks to Chris "Zeke" Hand of Zeke's Gallery and to Michael Geist for their help with the story.
Many bloggers dream of getting mainstream recognition for their work, but unfortunately for some, the attention they're getting comes in the form of a lawsuit instead of media-star status. Earlier this week, Steelback Brewery president Frank D'Angelo filed a $2-million libel suit against Ottawa-based blogger Neate Sager for making what he says are disparaging comments about him.
In another recent case, Montreal art-gallery owner Chris (Zeke) Hand has found himself on the receiving end of a lawsuit as a result of something he wrote on the blog he maintains for Zeke's Gallery. Warren Kinsella, a prominent blogger and newspaper columnist, sued another blogger for libel last year, but settled the case after the blogger apologized for his remarks and paid Kinsella's legal costs.
And p2pnet, a British Columbia-based news site that writes about file-sharing, is still fighting a libel lawsuit launched by Kazaa tycoon Nikki Hemming based on comments that were posted on an article about the company.Hand's ordeal started last November, when he posted an item on the Zeke's Gallery blog about a competing gallery owner who sold fake paintings to Loto-Québec (something that was also mentioned in several media stories at the time).
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