Is Morrison gaining a reputation for untrustworthiness? The answer could have serious implications for the election
- Written by Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne
For good legal and ethical reasons, the media are generally wary of calling someone a liar.
It is a serious slur on a person’s reputation, implying that he or she is untrustworthy, unreliable, duplicitous and deceitful.
These are the kinds of meanings lawyers draw from the word “liar” when preparing a writ for defamation. Unless a...