Matthew Firsht wins libel case over Facebook group

Last Modified: 24 Jul 2008
By: Kylie Morris

More4 News speaks to the victim of a false Facebook profile who won his libel case.

While the full glare of press attention was on Max Mosley vs the News of the World, in another room of the high court a separate judgment was being delivered which could have implications for the way we use new media.

North London businessman Matthew Firsht was awarded £22,000 in damages for breach of privacy and libel against a former friend, Grant Raphael, who set up a fake Facebook profile in his name.

A Facebook group set up by Mr Raphael called "Has Mathew Firsht lied to you?..." accused Mr Firsht and his company of having lied to avoid paying its debts. The judge ruled that this was libellous and awarded them a total of £20,000.

And a fake profile presented Mr Firsht as a member of various gay groups who was "Looking for: Anything I can get" in relationships.

The judge said that giving out personal information, including false allegations that he was gay, amounted to a breach of privacy, for which he awarded another £2,000.