A woman has been awarded $10,000 in damages after being defamed by a YouTube video that depicted her as a member of a child abuse and trafficking group.
In her application, she said defamatory imputations in the video included "I am a member of a pedophile [sic] cult ... I am a member of a child trafficking organisation".
The video identified her by name and social media handle, reportedly claiming she "helped a cult of child sacrifice manipulate the courts to silence exposure" and was "part of a blood drinking, child sex cult".
In an ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision published on Thursday, Jesse Bell was ordered to pay damages after publishing the defamatory video on the Resolute TV YouTube channel in early 2022.
The live video was titled "D.O.T. Pedophiles Rule the World" and included an interview conducted by Mr Bell.
A claim was also made against another man alleged to be the channel's owner, but those proceedings were dismissed after it was ruled he had not published the video for the purposes of defamation.
"Only publishers are liable for the harm to reputation under defamation," senior tribunal member Daniel Stewart said.
The defamatory comments were made by the video's interviewee, Luke McKee.
Facebook message screenshots submitted in proceedings indicated that Mr Bell initially offered to protect the woman in response to possible threats from Mr McKee but that eventually changed.
"Come after me you bitch. I will destroy you publicly either way. I offered you protection and you gave me nothing but vitriol," one message said.
The tribunal ultimately found the gravity of the imputations in the defamatory material was substantial and had harmed the woman's reputation.
"Imputing that the applicant is a member of a group which engages in child sexual assault, even if not directly suggesting that the applicant themselves engaged in that activity, is a very serious accusation," Mr Stewart said.
"The material has potentially been heard by a large number of people, with over 500 views of the original material.
"The grapevine effect is also likely to be substantial, with evidence suggesting that links to the video and references to its content have been circulated on other social media platforms."
One witness told the tribunal the video had over 1300 views across different platforms.
Mr Stewart said the woman had been subjected to abusive comments on social media and had lost friends.
Full public access to the video was removed 52 days after it was initially published, but the woman claims it remained accessible to those who were able to search for a copy of a link to it.
The video was still available at the time of the hearing on two online platforms not linked to the original publisher.
While the woman also sought an apology from both men named in the civil proceedings on their personal and social media pages, the tribunal made no such order.
