The Australian Federal Court yesterday ordered Google to pay more than US$500,000 in damages to a politician after finding that he had been defamed by a comedian’s videos hosted on YouTube.
John Barilaro was deputy premier of the state of New South Wales in 2020 when an Australian comedian known as “friendlyjordies” uploaded a series of videos to YouTube, accusing the politician of corruption and using an Italian accent to mock his heritage.
Barilaro labeled the videos racist, and broke down in court watching one that had been filmed by “friendlyjordies” at a luxurious property that the politician owned and rented out on Airbnb.
“I’m traumatized by it,” Barilaro said during his testimony.
Barilaro late last year settled with “friendlyjordies,” whose real name is Jordan Shanks, with the comedian issuing an apology and agreeing to edit the videos, which have now been viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube.
While Google, which owns YouTube, had initially defended the case, the search giant eventually abandoned its defenses, some of which the court said were “obviously hopeless.”
Justice Steven Rares found Google liable for the harm caused to Barilaro from December 2020 — when the politician’s lawyers wrote to the company demanding that the offending videos be removed — and ordered it to pay aggravated damages.
The judge found Google’s publication of the videos drove Barilaro from public office prematurely — he resigned from parliament in October 2020 — “and traumatized him significantly.”
The judge also said that Shanks “needed YouTube to disseminate his poison,” adding that Google was willing to join the comedian “to earn revenue as part of its business model.”
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
RSS