Being Insulted and Defamed Online: What You Can Do — and When You Become the Wrongdoer

This matter always has two sides that must be read together: the side of the person being posted about and the side of the person about to post a response, because quite a number of people who begin as victims end up becoming the accused themselves, from what they posted in reply on the same day.

The First Hour: Preserve Evidence Before the Post Disappears

Posts that cause damage are often deleted once the owner realizes the other party is going to take legal action. Here is what you should do before anything else:

• Take a full-page screenshot showing the account name, the date and time, and the message text in the same image.
• Save the post link and the link to the poster's profile.
• Also keep the comments under the post because they show that third parties saw it and understood who it referred to.
• Preserve evidence of the damage, such as clients who cancelled, messages others sent to ask about it, or the impact on your work.
• Do not delete previous chats with the other party even if it is an argument you would rather no one saw, because the prior context is what can be used to explain the matter.

The best evidence is a set that shows the timeline — how the matter began and how it escalated — not just a single image cropped to only the strongest sentence.

The line that turns the victim into the accused

What to avoid immediately after an incident occurs

• Posting aggressive retaliatory messages especially naming someone or making it clear who you mean
• Publicly shaming the other party with their personal information such as phone number, address, workplace, or family photos
• Encouraging others to pile on which may make you complicit in what follows
• Sharing posts with your own added commentary about matters you don't yet know to be true or false

Messages posted in anger are evidence that can cut both ways, and are the reason many cases of this kind end with both sides suing each other — which benefits no one.

The Options Available Are Not Limited to Filing a Lawsuit

1. Report to the Platform to Suspend or Remove

This is the fastest option and can be used together with other options. Every major platform has a channel for reporting infringing content. The limitation is that the outcome depends on the platform's policies and may not cover every case.

2. Issue a Notice to Remove and Stop Publication

A letter from a lawyer often brings the matter to a close faster than expected, especially with posters who did not intend to turn it into a case and simply posted out of emotion. The advantage is that conditions can be set, such as requiring removal, a clarification, or an apology on the original channel.

3. Pursue Criminal Proceedings

This suits cases where the statements are severe, are disseminated to a wide audience, or where the conduct continues even after a warning has been given.

4. File a Civil Lawsuit for Damages

This is used when the damage to reputation or to business is clear and provable. This path is separate from the criminal route and the two can be used together.

Choosing a path should not begin with the question "Can I sue?" but should begin with "What outcome do I want?" If the goal is to have the content removed and stopped, the first and second options usually work much faster.

When a Business Is Defamed by Reviews

For shops and businesses, you need to distinguish between two things:

• Reviews that are opinions from genuine experience — even negative opinions are protected by the fair criticism exception. Retaliating with a lawsuit often achieves the opposite result and makes the matter escalate.
• Reviews that state false facts — such as claiming to have found something that does not actually exist, or reviews from accounts that have never used the service at all. This is a different matter and can be legally pursued.

The approach that works for most businesses is to respond politely and to the point in public channels first, keep evidence alongside, and then use legal channels only against specific cases that fall into the second category.

If you are the accused party

If you receive a summons from posting or sharing something, do not simply delete the post and think the matter is over. The other party usually has already kept evidence, and deleting it may be construed as detrimental to yourself. The steps to take are in the guide Received a summons from the police: what to do.

In legal terms, defamation is a compoundable offense, so negotiation is a practical solution in many cases and often concludes faster than both sides fighting to the very end.

Short Summary

1. Keep all evidence before the post is deleted — including images, links, comments, and damages.
2. Do not respond by posting to shame the other party, because that could make you the one accused.
3. Being identifiable matters more than using a name directly.
4. Sharing with your own message carries more risk than sharing without comment.
5. Set your goal before choosing the method. If you want the post removed and the conduct stopped, a demand letter is usually faster than a lawsuit.
6. Defamation can be settled, so negotiation is always an option worth considering.

Read more

• Got a police summons — what should you do?
• Guide to criminal cases in Thailand
• Scammed online — how to file a police report for a chance of getting your money back
• Personal data protection (PDPA) for businesses

This guide was prepared by Suwanvara Law Firm — founded B.E. 2529, head office in Khon Kaen, Bangkok branch. This content is general information, not legal advice for any particular case. The outcome of each matter depends on the wording, context, and evidence of that matter. Before taking any action, you should consult a professional.