Photo of husband posted on Facebook group with allegation - legalities?

[Hattie24]

Earlier I was alerted to a post by a woman on our town’s community Facebook page. It is a rant about a flat in her block being used by a group of prostitutes which is causing issues at unsociable hours and how the landlord isn’t doing anything about it. Under this there are photos of various men at the entrance of the block of flats and one of them is my husband. The insinuation is that these have all been visiting that flat.

I want to know the legalities of this woman posting such an allegation as she is outright refusing to remove the post. It is obviously extremely humiliating for me (friends and no doubt colleagues have seen it) and there’s so many comments underneath. We’ve been on a ‘break’ due to various issues but still living together and haven’t been intimate for nearly a year so I don’t need a lecture on how I shouldn’t have married such a man.

Is it me or is someone putting up a post like this without any thought for the consequences on various families etc utterly disgusting?

Double check the rules of the FB page and work on the admins. I think they're more likely to cave than FB. Our local pages have quite strict rules about not posting identifying pictures - the admins have left comments before about pictures potentially jeopardising legal proceedings and I think there is also some concern that admins could personally be on the hook for facilitating libel if they allow posts like that (no idea whether those concerns have a legitimate legal basis).

Separately, if you haven't already done so and want to get to the bottom of what's gone on, I'd Google the address and "physio". I'd imagine as well as wanting to advertise the business, physios are regulated and probably need to have their registered address published somewhere? So if nothing comes up it seems fairly sus.

First thing to establish op is to determine what he says is true. Can he provide evidence that he was visiting a physio located in that building? If so, I would then look into legal advice on how best to tackle it.

If he wasn't your husband anymore you wouldn't have to be embarrassed.

What's truly mortifying is staying with him after this.

Easy for you to say when it has no impact on you.

For me I'd be concerned about my children. If the other residents of the flats are fed up it's about the type of clientele. Scuddy pissed up men making a racket. They might have children their selves and are trying to keep them away from these sex seekers.
So to the husband, I would look for a good divorce solicitor. It's not illegal to sell sex but it is illegal for someone else to profit from it.
I've known a fair few prostitutes and they keep away from family neighbourhoods and pimps.
OP I hope your children are old enough to be angry with your husband or young enough not to see these images.
He probably needs AA if he can't be arsed to deal with this.

there is also some concern that admins could personally be on the hook for facilitating libel if they allow posts like that (no idea whether those concerns have a legitimate legal basis).

They don't. Social media sites are (currently) not classed as 'publishers' in the way that, say, a newspaper is.

For example, if a journalist writes a libelous statement in an article and his newspaper publishes it on their website, the victim can go after both the individual and the company.

But with social media sites/aps, only the person who made the statement is responsible.

Facebook do have legal responsibility and know it- so if you report it- let admin know you aren’t happy about said picture or even report to police- the correct outcome will occur.

i personally feel your anger is in the wrong place though. He has been caught outside a prostitutes house. If it was a friends husband what would you say to her? It must be deeply hurtful to have this happen and humiliating for you to know the world now knows this. I’d have to cut ties myself and move myself away from him and his habits.

You are right pp but the photo isnt the issue. Its the allegation that all men in these pics are using sex workers. She has no proof of this so really these claims are defamatory.

Op you could ask a solicitor to write her a letter pointing out she is making unsubstantiated claims and has opened herself up to litigation. Hopefully that will make her take the post down.

Kindly, hasn’t the horse already bolted on this one?

The photo is out there and people associate your ex and other men with using the brothel. He isn’t looking out for his own reputation, joining Facebook or addressing it himself. He’s gone out with his mates.

Why are you trying to resolve this? If you feel those who use sex workers attract shame, then please note there is no shame on you at all. You do not need ask him where he was or what he was doing or prove there was a physio appointment. You do not need to ask the lady to remove his photo. You do not need to plead his case for him.

You could ask him what he’s doing to sort his own reputation or deal with the claims made by this lady on Facebook. You could ask if he cares about that at all. You could share your embarrassment. You could point out that it may harm his employment. You could point out that if the police investigate and find that the women are underaged/trafficked/coerced he could be part of the investigation. But, you can’t solve this for him, and nor should you accept the burden of this.

They’re probably at the end of their tether and are hoping that by naming and shaming people they will stop coming. It’s not illegal to photo someone in a public place. I suppose if he could prove he wasn’t visiting a prostitute and was there for another reason it would be libel. But it’s expensive to prosecute someone for that, it would have to be a private prosecution I think.

Would the admin of the group be the one to remove the post?

But if he's been visiting prostitutes his embarrassment and the worry about his family and friends finding out is on him

It’s his behaviour. If you don’t want to be associated with him then divorce him. You are either a family or you’re not.

Private Message the Admins/Moderators of the Facebook Group and ask for the post to be removed?

If it’s only just happened I appreciate that it feels very raw and shocking. You are spiralling towards worst case scenario. The worst thing you can do is give it attention. As others have said, it’s your husband’s issue, not yours. Some people might spend a moment wondering whether it is true or whether it is just another crazy person on the internet posting nonsense.

Why are you trying to resolve this? If you feel those who use sex workers attract shame, then please note there is no shame on you at all. You do not need ask him where he was or what he was doing or prove there was a physio appointment. You do not need to ask the lady to remove his photo. You do not need to plead his case for him.

Can you honestly not see the kind of collateral damage this could do to the wives and children of the men identified?

People can be awful at the best of times, they'll be gossiping about this for years. Especially if it's a small community, it'll become folklore.

And if you think the parents are bad, wait until the kids start getting it in school.

https://m.facebook.com/help/3894625317215414/?locale=en_GB#

I think the point is - its NOT defamatory because he IS visiting sex worker/s

Same as its not libellous, as above

As plenty of others have said, your anger is aimed in the wrong direction. You should be raging at your scummy husband, not at the person who's outed him as a user of prostituted women. Even if your friends or colleagues do see it and recognise him, their reaction is likely to be "poor Linda- no wonder she's split up from that scumbag", not "ugh, if Geoff uses prostitutes, Linda must be as bad as him".

Have any of your friends said anything to you about it?

Meant to add, it's Facebook. It'll go away by itself and everyone will have moved onto something else next week.

Well I wouldn’t judge the OP or her kids for the ex’ actions. But accepting there are those who do, they already know. No one is going to revisit the post and say oh, it’s curious that OPs H is not there anymore are they?

If the reason OP is dealing with this is she is on fb and ex isn’t, he can set up his own account? Do you think when he was out at his mates last night he spent hours seeking counsel on what is defamation or libel or whatever? Even if he did, the focus on the fb post is misplaced as social media moves on.

Why is it up to OP to shovel this man’s shit? If he gave a flying fruitcake he would be doing it himself.

It's really not worth wasting your time & energy on this loser - whether he pays for sex or not.

Maybe the fb post has done you a favour as no one would expect you to try & make it work with him now & way past time to let him go.

He's hideous.

Why is his shame your shame?

Use this to divorce.

Be careful of messaging the woman. She could screenshot your messages and post them on the group too which would be a direct link to you and even more humiliating.

Libel (written/published) and slander (spoken) are just types of defamation in law, not separate things.

The point is, it's for a court to decide if he's been defamed. And for that to happen, the woman accused of libel has to mount a successful defence, based on her statement being true. It's on her to prove that; he doesn't have to prove that it's false, or that he was getting physio, or anything else.

A picture of a man outside a flat alone is not proof to the required legal standard that he even entered the flat, let alone what he did while he was inside.

The UK legal system is one of the most favorable in the world towards victims when it comes to libel/slander, because it's not about the truth, it's about what you can prove.

Oh the poor manly man, being forced to visit a brothel…hold on whilst I get my tiny 🎻 out 🤦‍♀️

I’ve not had sex for over 5 years…guess what I’ve never done?? That’s right…visit a prostitute!

Putting the talk of defamation to one side, because you are saying that actually you believe this is not defamation and he was there visiting a prostitute - don't you feel any guilt about what you are doing? This woman and her neighbours are affected by the fact that a brothel is being run in the building where they live. There are potentially very vulnerable women being assaulted there on an hourly basis. This woman has bravely put her head above the parapet - no doubt after getting nowhere through official channels - to make a stand against it, and you are threatening her because you're embarrassed by your husband's behaviour and would like everyone to think he's a normal, decent man?