Hey guys, I have a question. I'm sure you've all seen those fake celebrity pic sites, the ones where they take a famous persons head and photoshop it onto someone elses body. My question is couldn't this get the site owners in trouble for slander or defamation of character? What if the site clearly states that the pictures aren't real? What if the site links to externally hosted images? I've been researching and can't find a definitive answer. Not sure if anyone can help or not, I'd appreciate it though. Thanks, -Scott
There is nothing stopping a celebrity from trying to get your site shut down or even suing you, even if you are completely on the right side of the law. And keep in mind there are not only issues of defamation of character, but also copyright infringement, unless you have the explicit legal right to the photos that you are modifying or otherwise displaying on your site. For some examples, see the various lawsuits against Perez Hilton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perez_Hilton#Civil_litigation
As long as the photoshopped pictures are obviously satire & not being passed off as real images, you're in the clear as far as defamation of character & whatnot.