Seeing false information about yourself online brings a distinct and deeply personal kind of pain.
One lie — a twisted headline, a fake review, a social post out of context — can go viral, damaging your reputation and leaving you feeling helpless.
But you don’t have to accept it. There are clear steps you can take to remove or suppress defamatory content, rebuild your online image, and take back control.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this post.
Online defamation happens when someone posts false statements about you on the internet that damage your reputation.
It can show up anywhere – social media, blogs, forums, news sites – and once it’s out there, it spreads fast.
Even one false claim can lead to:
Unlike casual gossip, online defamation leaves a permanent mark. It can show up in search results and shape how people see you. And if it’s not removed, it can follow you for years.
Defamation can occur in various forms, including spoken words (slander) or written words (libel).
Regardless of form, here are some key elements to defamatory content:
Not everything negative said about you online qualifies as defamation. For a statement to be defamatory, it must be false, harmful, and presented as fact – not opinion, satire, or protected speech.
A statement is generally not defamatory if it is:
Here are a few examples of defamatory and non-defamatory content:
| Category | Defamatory Content | Non-Defamatory Content |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Allegations | False accusation of criminal conduct (e.g., “He stole money from clients.”) | True report or public record (e.g., “He was convicted of fraud in 2021.”) |
| Moral Character | False claims of immoral behavior (e.g., “She’s having an affair with her boss.”) | Opinion-based comment (e.g., “I don’t trust her judgment.”) |
| Professional Competence | False statements about job performance (e.g., “He’s a fraud and doesn’t know what he’s doing.”) | Subjective criticism (e.g., “I didn’t like working with him.”) |
| Reviews or Testimonials | Fabricated or fake reviews (e.g., “I used this service and was robbed” — when no service occurred) | Personal experience shared honestly (e.g., “The service was slow and disappointing.”) |
| Financial Mismanagement | False claims of mishandling funds (e.g., “She embezzled nonprofit donations.”) | Verified public information (e.g., “The nonprofit disclosed a budget shortfall in its 2023 report.”) |
| Headlines & News | Clickbait or fake news with misleading or false information (e.g., “CEO caught in major scandal!”) | Satirical or clearly opinion-based headlines (e.g., “CEO loses sleep over coffee shortage – satire column”) |
| Images or Visuals | Manipulated photos to imply false facts (e.g., edited images suggesting illegal activity) | Parody or artistic expression clearly not meant to be factual (e.g., meme exaggerating behavior for humor) |
| Legal Documents or Records | Falsified or misleading statements in affidavits or complaints | Accurate and privileged content from legal proceedings (e.g., testimony given under oath) |
| Social Media Posts | False, harmful factual claims (e.g., “She scammed me!” when no scam occurred) | Negative opinion or rhetorical expression (e.g., “I’d never do business with them again.”) |
| Press Releases | False, damaging statements issued as fact (e.g., “We terminated him for fraud.” — if untrue) | Corporate opinion or factual updates (e.g., “We parted ways due to strategic differences.”) |
The experts at Reputation911 remove defamatory content and false news from Google—helping you reclaim your reputation and control your online narrative.
Here are a few strategies to remove defamatory content online.
Contact the blog author, website editor, or owner to have the content taken down.
Include links to the content in questions, describe why it’s false, and, if possible, attach evidence. Some site owners may remove the post quickly to avoid any legal risk or negative attention.
If the site is hosted on a blogging platform (like WordPress.com, Blogger, or Medium), you can also report the post to the platform for review.
For more advice, check out our guide to removing something from the internet.
Getting content removed isn’t always possible. In those cases, suppression is the next best option.
Instead of removing an article entirely, search engine suppression pushes down negative search results off the first page of search results – and out of sight. Most people never scroll past the first few results, so this reduces the likelihood of someone finding and seeing content online.
Some proven strategies include:
Explore more tactics in our blog on burying Google search results.
If the defamatory content is false, harmful, and won’t come down through direct outreach, it may be time to consider legal action. Legal remedies can help remove the content, restore your reputation, and in some cases, recover damages.
When to consider a lawsuit:
Condition | Explanation |
Serious False Accusations | Content includes false claims of criminal acts, fraud, abuse, etc. |
Measurable Harm | You’ve lost income, employment, clients, or suffered other quantifiable damages. |
Refusal to Remove or Correct | The publisher ignores requests to take down or fix the false content. |
Factually False, Not Just Opinion | The statement can be proven false — it’s not just harsh opinion or criticism. |
Take these steps:
File a defamation lawsuit: If needed, your attorney may recommend filing a suit to seek removal and/or damages.
Legal action can be effective, but it’s not always quick, easy, or guaranteed.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Cost can be a factor. Legal action can be expensive. We recommend weighing the potential cost of a lawsuit against other options, like content suppression or direct removal requests.
You may be able to have defamatory content removed from search results while legal action is underway.
Google accepts legal removal requests in certain cases, including:
How to submit a request:
1. Go to the Report Content for Legal Reasons form & click “Create a Request”
2. Select the Google product where the content appears (e.g., Google Search, YouTube, etc)
3. Under “Select the reason why you wish to report the content”, choose “Legal Reasons to Report Content”.
4. Another box will appear below – choose “Defamation”.
5. Click the blue “Create request” button to submit a request to their team.
6. From there, fill the form in completely with your information, the infringing URLs, and a detailed explanation about why the content is unlawful. Give as much information as possible.
Submit any information or documentation asked of you, including:
Google may not be able to remove the content from the source, but it can de-index URLs so they no longer show up in search. That alone can make a major difference.
If direct outreach fails and the content is clearly defamatory, you can file a formal takedown request based on legal grounds.
There are two common types: defamation takedown notices and DMCA takedowns.
You can submit a written notice to the platform or website hosting the content. Your request should clearly explain:
This works best when sent to platforms with legal departments, like news sites or social media companies
Include evidence like:
Some websites may honor the request to avoid legal liability and further escalation.
If the post includes something you own – like a photo, video, logo, or text – you can file a DMCA takedown based on copyright infringement.
What to include:
You can send the DMCA request to:
This won’t work for false statements alone, but it’s useful when defamation includes stolen or copied materials.
If all else fails, a court order can force a website, platform, or search engine to remove defamatory content.
This is usually the last resort – but it’s also one of the most effective.
A court order is a legal document issued by a judge. It states that the content in question is legally considered defamatory and must be removed or taken down.
Once you have a court order:
Here’s how to obtain a court order:
Many platforms will not fully remove defamatory content unless a court has declared it unlawful. With a court order, your request carries legal weight. And in most cases, compliance is mandatory.
Defamatory content has the potential to destroy your personal and professional life – but you can fight back.
Whether it’s a false accusation, a misleading article, or a harmful social media post, there are real steps you can take to repair your online image.
Reputation911 helps individuals and businesses remove defamatory content from search results. Our team has years of experience working with websites and search engines to get results.
Need help now? Contact us for a free consultation.
We make you look good online.
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