Belief versus Expression

[steepholm]

This is a question that has long bothered me, but not enough to research the answer.

Let's say you live in a country with strong libel or hate-speech laws. If you write, for example, "X is a racist", and X has the resources to take matters further, you may well find yourself on the wrong end of a libel suit.

But, there is no law against having particular beliefs or thoughts. You're still allowed to believe that X is a racist, even if you can't write "X is a racist" in a newspaper without getting sued.

So, what about writing the sentence "I believe that X is a racist"?

It's a factual statement, and the fact that it reports on is unactionable (because it's a belief, not a statement). So, why do I get the feeling that X might still sue, and win?

Or, if X wouldn't win, why don't people use the tactic of prepending "I believe" (or equivalent) to every otherwise-actionable statement all the time, like some legal version of Simon Says?

I assume this is a matter that has already been well trodden by lawyers, and maybe philosophers too (phrases like "use-mention distinction" and "performative language" are going through my head even now), but what conclusion have they come to?

Comments

[ashkitty]

I think it's a bit like sticking 'allegedly' in to something - in the US I think the 'I believe' would get you off (depending, however, on how serious the thing is you are 'believing'). Then again in the US you seem to be able to say pretty much any damn thing at the moment so there's that.

Unrelated, I am back in Wales - might you be up for a visitor or adventure of some sort this autumn sometime?

[steepholm]

That's marvellous news! Is it a permanent thing? Definitely up for visitors *and* adventures. Will message you on FB.