Sidebar: Mean tweets

Editor's note: This episode is not family friendly due to some colorful language.

A long-running feud between eviction lawyers Dennis Block and Danny Bramzon cumulated into a Twitter parody account and a libel lawsuit that made it all the way to a jury trial.

In the third episode this season, we take the temperature of libel law in the 21st century when it comes to X, formerly known as Twitter.

Block isn’t the only one unsuccessful in the courtroom. A lawsuit that sought to take down Elon Musk over his infamous “pedo guy” tweet failed, as did efforts by “badass lawyer” Todd Levitt and former Congressman Devin Nunes over their Twitter impersonators.

Why is it so hard to win a defamation lawsuit when digital satire is at play? The courtroom becomes a crucible, with jurors and judges wrestling over the true nature of parody, leaving us pondering the potential repercussions of a legal system scrambling to catch up with the online world’s rapid evolution.

Special guests:

• Eric Anderson, an attorney for Bramzon’s firm, Basta
• Christopher Frost, an attorney for Block
• Eugene Volokh, UCLA law professor and blogger at The Volokh Conspiracy
• Gordon Bloem, an attorney sued by Levitt
• Paul Alan Levy, an attorney at Public Citizen
• Ryan Mac, tech reporter at The New York Times

Sidebar tackles the top stories you need to know from the legal world. Join reporters Hillel Aron, Kirk McDaniel, Amanda Pampuro and Kelsey Reichmann as they take you in and out of courtrooms in the U.S. and beyond and break down developments to help you understand how they affect your day-to-day life.

This episode was produced by Hillel Aron. Intro music by The Dead Pens. A transcript is available.

Editorial staff is Bill Dotinga, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross. Special thanks to Edvard Pettersson.

For more mean tweets:

• Eviction defense firm prevails against landlord attorney over parody Twitter account
• Devin Nunes can’t sue Twitter over fake cow account
• Elon Musk cleared in ‘pedo guy’ defamation case

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