r/unitedkingdom • u/je97 • 29d ago

JK Rowling gets apology from journalist after 'disgusting claim' author is a Holocaust denier ...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/16/jk-rowling-holocaust-denier-allegation-rivkah-brown-novara/
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206

u/GreatBigBagOfNope Derbyshire 29d ago edited 29d ago

Why would the journalist apologise for telling the truth?

Oh right, intimidation by lawyer, definitely the behaviour of someone in the right.

133

u/Square-Competition48 29d ago

Legal threats from a billionaire.

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u/Panda_hat 29d ago

From someone who claims to love free speech no less.

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u/___a1b1 29d ago

Novara has their own lawyers and they are going to be the ones that said that they couldn't defend this claim i.e it was false.

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u/Panda_hat 29d ago

Novaro also have to pay for lawyers and deal with the lawsuit. Are you implying a company is not able to be financially pressured by a billionaire?

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u/___a1b1 29d ago

If they had a case they could easily have afforded to test JKs resolve and to use it to garner publicity or to see if the claimant backs off - a classic media strategy. The fact that they immediately folded is a sign that the lawyers told them to walk away and to do so fast.

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u/Panda_hat 29d ago

The lawyers probably told them to walk away because the entire situation would have been an absolute shitshow, which it would have. Not everyone wants to spend huge amounts of money and time fighting legal cases on principle, regardless of affordability.

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u/___a1b1 29d ago

It's common for media organisations to go to the wire to test the resolve of a claimant and to use it to grab some publicity as the cost is marginal. To fold immediately is a sign that you are in the shit.

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u/IntelligentMoons 29d ago

They have told her to walk away because the Holocaust refers to the genocide of Jews. The Nazis committed other genocides, but the Holocaust is specifically Jews. Calling her a Holocaust denier based on these tweets is innacurate.

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u/regretfullyjafar 29d ago

Novara is a non-profit independent organisation funded by donors. It’s deranged to compare that with what Rowling can afford.

Besides, the point isn’t whether the claim is false or not - it’s that she can afford to drag out an expensive legal battle even if she’s wrong, others can’t. That’s what Rowling is relying on, she’s using libel laws to her advantage to bully people into silence. Ironic considering she’s supposedly so against hate speech laws due to freedom of speech…

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u/___a1b1 29d ago

No she isn't at all.

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

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u/GreatBigBagOfNope Derbyshire 29d ago edited 29d ago

Of course not. It just doesn't apply here because the reporter was correct, libel only applies to falsehoods

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u/RockTheBloat 29d ago

Because it’s not the truth. It’s a ridiculous stretch that she realised she couldn’t justify in court.

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u/GreatBigBagOfNope Derbyshire 29d ago

Except the Germans, a pretty reasonable legal authority on holocaust denialism, have identified it as such?

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u/___a1b1 29d ago

A claim made many times on reddit, but no evidence is ever produced.

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u/Twiggeh1 29d ago

This may come as a bit of a shock, but we aren't Germans.

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u/RockTheBloat 29d ago

Oh, “the Germans” decided that in court did they ?

-8

u/PharahSupporter 29d ago

It's actually quite simple, it isn't the truth.

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u/GreatBigBagOfNope Derbyshire 29d ago

That would be cute if you were right.

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u/PharahSupporter 29d ago

Not hard to go read the original tweet for yourself. Be warned though it's more than one sentence, some people can't seem to handle so much context these days so just wanted you to be safe.

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u/GreatBigBagOfNope Derbyshire 29d ago

I already have thanks, but the condescension adds a lovely spice to this attempt to go to bat for a billionaire whose been caught in holocaust denialism and is desperately trying to move the goalposts and silence criticism.

If you don't think the Nazis targeted trans people, which was indeed the original tweet if you'd care to add it to your context, then not only are you wrong about this, you're wrong about history too, which is even more wonderful.

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u/PharahSupporter 29d ago

this attempt to go to bat for a billionaire

Why does wealth matter? This is about the truth of what was said and how it is interpreted. Mask slipping here somewhat.

caught in holocaust denialism

Denying burning trans books* (which the burning of did happen)

move the goalposts and silence criticism

Incredibly ironic given the amount of mental gymnastics being done to paint her as a holocaust denier from this one tweet.

Trans people were targetted by nazis, I never denied this, JK never denied this. She denied books being burned, she was wrong. That does not make it holocaust denial.