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Tips for Avoiding Defamation and Libel as a Web Publisher

Avoiding defamation and libel is crucial for web publishers. Learn key tips to protect your content and reputation from costly lawsuits in our latest article.

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Introduction

Our text compare tool is a fantastic, lightweight tool that provides plagiarism checks between two documents. Whether you are a student, blogger or publisher, this tool offers a great solution to detect and compare similarities between any two pieces of text. In this article, I will discuss the different ways to use the tool, the primary features of the tool and who this tool is for. There is an FAQ at the bottom if you run into any issues when trying to use the tool.

What makes Originality.ai’s text comparison tool stand out?

Keyword density helper – This tool comes with a built-in keyword density helper in some ways similar to the likes of SurferSEO or MarketMuse the difference being, ours is free! This feature shows the user the frequency of single or two word keywords in a document, meaning you can easily compare an article you have written against a competitor to see the major differences in keyword densities. This is especially useful for SEO’s who are looking to optimize their blog content for search engines and improve the blog’s visibility.

Ways to compare

File compare – Text comparison between files is a breeze with our tool. Simply select the files you would like to compare, hit “Upload” and our tool will automatically insert the content into the text area, then simply hit “Compare” and let our tool show you where the differences in the text are. By uploading a file, you can still check the keyword density in your content.

URL compare

Comparing text between URLs is effortless with our tool. Simply paste the URL you would like to get the content from (in our example we use a fantastic blog post by Sherice Jacob found here) hit “Submit URL” and our tool will automatically retrieve the contents of the page and paste it into the text area, then simply click “Compare” and let our tool highlight the difference between the URLs. This feature is especially useful for checking keyword density between pages!

Simple text compare

You can also easily compare text by copying and pasting it into each field, as demonstrated below.

Features of Originality.ai’s Text Compare Tool

Ease of use

Our text compare tool is created with the user in mind, it is designed to be accessible to everyone. Our tool allows users to upload files or enter a URL to extract text, this along with the lightweight design ensures a seamless experience. The interface is simple and straightforward, making it easy for users to compare text and detect the diff.

Multiple text file format support

Our tool provides support for a variety of different text files and microsoft word formats including pdf file, .docx, .odt, .doc, and .txt, giving users the ability to compare text from different sources with ease. This makes it a great solution for students, bloggers, and publishers who are looking for file comparison in different formats.

Protects intellectual property

Our text comparison tool helps you protect your intellectual property and helps prevent plagiarism. This tool provides an accurate comparison of texts, making it easy to ensure that your work is original and not copied from other sources. Our tool is a valuable resource for anyone looking to maintain the originality of their content.

User Data Privacy

Our text compare tool is secure and protects user data privacy. No data is ever saved to the tool, the users’ text is only scanned and pasted into the tool’s text area. This makes certain that users can use our tool with confidence, knowing their data is safe and secure.

Compatibility

Our text comparison tool is designed to work seamlessly across all size devices, ensuring maximum compatibility no matter your screen size. Whether you are using a large desktop monitor, a small laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, this tool adjusts to your screen size. This means that users can compare texts and detect the diff anywhere without the need for specialized hardware or software. This level of accessibility makes it an ideal solution for students or bloggers who value the originality of their work and need to compare text online anywhere at any time.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only, and isn’t meant to be taken as legal advice. Since laws can vary by region and industry anyway, it’s best to consult a legal professional for their expertise on this subject.

As a web publisher, you’re likely putting out a fair amount of content on blogs, websites, and/or social media platforms on a regular basis. After all, if you’re going to stay top of mind with your audience and stand out from the competition, you’ve got to put in the work! But if you’re not taking steps to avoid defamation and libel in this online content, then all of your hard work could get you into trouble.

And not just the “slap on the wrist” kind of trouble either. Even if you accidentally make false statements against an individual, group, or business that could damage their reputation, you could open yourself up to a serious, time-consuming, and costly lawsuit. In fact, one online defamation case resulted in a $38 million payout!

Now, don’t panic just yet! It’s a big number, yes, but fortunately, preventing these types of lawsuits is often easier than trying to fight them in court. So, in this article, we’re going to give you some tips for avoiding defamation and libel as a web publisher.

1. Clearly State When Something Is an Opinion vs a Fact

First things first: sharing an opinion about someone or something typically doesn’t count as defamation. It doesn’t matter of its slander (verbal defamation) or libel (written defamation). But sometimes, just starting a statement with “I believe…” or “In my opinion…” isn’t enough. You need to make sure that you’re not implying any false, underlying facts.

For example, consider the following two sentences:

  • I believe that John stole Taylor’s wallet.
  • The last time that I saw John, he was looking through Taylor’s purse before she reported her wallet missing. So, I think that he stole Taylor’s wallet.

See the difference? Since you’re not sharing the reasons for accusing John in the first statement, readers may assume that your opinion may be based on unstated, defamatory facts. In the second statement, though, you’re stating the truth about what you’re basing your opinion on: that he was looking through her purse before the wallet went missing. A little context can go a long way.

Under these circumstances, it would be reasonable for you and your readers to believe that John stole Taylor’s wallet. But if your reasoning turned out to be false (you didn’t, in fact, witness him going through her purse before it was stolen), then the statement could be considered defamatory.

2. Verify and Cite Your Sources

As a web publisher, you may go out of your way to ensure that you’re providing your audience with high-quality content. But that doesn’t mean that everyone else does.

Some people are just churning out content to get more clicks, shares, and traffic, without a second thought as to how accurate that content actually is. So, as a general rule of thumb, the more scandalous and controversial a news item may be, the more research you should do before publishing it to a website.

But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still do your due diligence on more mundane topics too, though. You should always look into the accuracy, reliability, and credibility of your sources, whether they’re talking about a local man having a problem with his neighbor or a political figure calling someone a liar on social media

If they check out, then use the information and credit them accordingly. If not, then see if you can find a reliable source covering the same topic, or avoid using it altogether to avoid any potential claims of defamation.

3. Don’t Republish Someone Else’s Defamatory Statements

Now, you may think that you can get around any libel accusations yourself if you’re crediting and reposting someone else’s defamatory statement. But generally speaking, you could be held responsible for republishing the content if you knew or had reason to believe it was defamatory.

It’s often not enough to say that you were just repeating what someone else wrote and that you weren’t sure of the truth yourself  - that defence typically won’t hold up in court. In some cases, you may be protected if you present the information in an unbiased manner and cite the source, but there’s no guarantees here.

There is some good news here, though. According to the Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, though, media organizations are not held responsible for user comments on their websites, as long as they did not encourage or create them. So, if a user drops libelous content on a blog post on your website, you shouldn’t be held accountable.

4. Check AI-Generated Content Closely

With artificial intelligence-based writing tools and large language models like ChatGPT making content creation easier than ever, you may find yourself publishing some AI-generated content from time to time. So, you may be wondering: can AI be sued for defamation? Or will I be blamed for any AI-created defamatory statements that I publish?

Well, since the technology is still so new, the laws in this area are murky at best. But this isn’t stopping people from trying to hold the creators of AI tools accountable.

Take the case of Mark Walters vs OpenAI. The radio host found that ChatGPT was falsely accusing him of embezzlement, and sued its creator, OpenAI, for defamation. This isn’t the first time AI hallucinations like this have caused serious problems, but whether OpenAI will be held liable remains to be seen.

So, until the laws become more clear regarding AI-generated libel, the best thing you can do is protect yourself. For example, if you’re receiving and publishing content from other writers, then the first step would be to run it through an AI content checker to see if any of it has been generated by ChatGPT or any other AI writing tool. 

If it has, you should then carefully check the highlighted sections for any false, defamatory statements. You may even consider using a fact checker to help you out.

While it’s true that individuals are currently going after the creator of these generative AI products, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

5. Investigate and Correct Mistakes as Needed

Finally, whether someone points out a potentially defamatory statement to you or you find one yourself, it’s at least worth an investigation. You should look into the claim as soon as possible, and, if you find that it has merit, update and correct your mistake. It’s going to take a little extra work, sure, but it could save you from going to court.

In fact, in some jurisdictions, you can protect yourself in an online defamation lawsuit if you retract the supposedly defamatory statement in question. For example, if the plaintiff doesn’t request a retraction or requests and receives one, then they can only get “special damages” related to the statement. This is usually in the form of something like lost wages instead of more serious damages.

Start Taking Steps to Avoid Defamation and Libel Today

If you’re going to make your mark as a web publisher, then you can’t afford to be sidelined by defamation and libel accusations. Fortunately, by clearly distinguishing between opinions and facts, verifying and citing sources, avoiding the republication of potentially defamatory content, carefully fact-checking AI content, and publishing retractions as needed, you should be able to protect yourself.

So, start implementing some of these tips for avoiding defamation and libel as a web publisher today, and help keep your career lawsuit-free!

Jess Sawyer

Jess Sawyer is a seasoned writer and content marketing expert with a passion for crafting engaging and SEO-optimized content. With several years of experience in the digital marketing, Jess has honed her skills in creating content that not only captivates audiences but also ranks high on search engine results.

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Originality.ai did a fantastic job on all three prompts, precisely detecting them as AI-written. Additionally, after I checked with actual human-written textual content, it did determine it as 100% human-generated, which is important.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important to check for plagiarism?

Tools for conducting a plagiarism check between two documents online are important as it helps to ensure the originality and authenticity of written work. Plagiarism undermines the value of professional and educational institutions, as well as the integrity of the authors who write articles. By checking for plagiarism, you can ensure the work that you produce is original or properly attributed to the original author. This helps prevent the distribution of copied and misrepresented information.

What is Text Comparison?

Text comparison is the process of taking two or more pieces of text and comparing them to see if there are any similarities, differences and/or plagiarism. The objective of a text comparison is to see if one of the texts has been copied or paraphrased from another text. This text compare tool for plagiarism check between two documents has been built to help you streamline that process by finding the discrepancies with ease.

How do Text Comparison Tools Work?

Text comparison tools work by analyzing and comparing the contents of two or more text documents to find similarities and differences between them. This is typically done by breaking the texts down into smaller units such as sentences or phrases, and then calculating a similarity score based on the number of identical or nearly identical units. The comparison may be based on the exact wording of the text, or it may take into account synonyms and other variations in language. The results of the comparison are usually presented in the form of a report or visual representation, highlighting the similarities and differences between the texts.

String comparison is a fundamental operation in text comparison tools that involves comparing two sequences of characters to determine if they are identical or not. This comparison can be done at the character level or at a higher level, such as the word or sentence level.

The most basic form of string comparison is the equality test, where the two strings are compared character by character and a Boolean result indicating whether they are equal or not is returned. More sophisticated string comparison algorithms use heuristics and statistical models to determine the similarity between two strings, even if they are not exactly the same. These algorithms often use techniques such as edit distance, which measures the minimum number of operations (such as insertions, deletions, and substitutions) required to transform one string into another.

Another common technique for string comparison is n-gram analysis, where the strings are divided into overlapping sequences of characters (n-grams) and the frequency of each n-gram is compared between the two strings. This allows for a more nuanced comparison that takes into account partial similarities, rather than just exact matches.

String comparison is a crucial component of text comparison tools, as it forms the basis for determining the similarities and differences between texts. The results of the string comparison can then be used to generate a report or visual representation of the similarities and differences between the texts.

What is Syntax Highlighting?

Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors and integrated development environments (IDEs) that helps to visually distinguish different elements of a code or markup language. It does this by coloring different elements of the code, such as keywords, variables, functions, and operators, based on a predefined set of rules.

The purpose of syntax highlighting is to make the code easier to read and understand, by drawing attention to the different elements and their structure. For example, keywords may be colored in a different hue to emphasize their importance, while comments or strings may be colored differently to distinguish them from the code itself. This helps to make the code more readable, reducing the cognitive load of the reader and making it easier to identify potential syntax errors.

How Can I Conduct a Plagiarism Check between Two Documents Online?

With our tool it’s easy, just enter or upload some text, click on the button “Compare text” and the tool will automatically display the diff between the two texts.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Text Compare Tool?

Using text comparison tools is much easier, more efficient, and more reliable than proofreading a piece of text by hand. Eliminate the risk of human error by using a tool to detect and display the text difference within seconds.

What Files Can You Inspect with This Text Compare Tool?

We have support for the file extensions .pdf, .docx, .odt, .doc and .txt. You can also enter your text or copy and paste text to compare.

Will My Data Be Shared?

There is never any data saved by the tool, when you hit “Upload” we are just scanning the text and pasting it into our text area so with our text compare tool, no data ever enters our servers.

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