U of W prof sues social media giants Meta, X

A University of Winnipeg professor is suing two social media companies in an attempt to determine who was behind online accounts used to crudely impersonate him and make vulgar comments he calls defamatory.

Prof. Matthew Flisfeder, who teaches rhetoric and communications, filed a statement of claim in Court of King’s Bench late last month, naming the unknown people behind the accounts, referred to as John and Jane Doe, and Meta and X, as defendants.

The person or persons unknown made several accounts on Instagram — owned by Meta — and one on X, formerly known as Twitter, to falsely impersonate the professor in a “campaign of harassment and defamation,” the court filing argues.

The posters, while crudely pretending to be Flisfeder, made vulgar and often sexual comments, as well as comments about being a Zionist, and claimed that he “hit on” or was otherwise inappropriate with his students. The accounts used photos of him as the profile pictures.

He argues the false statements are antisemitic and defamatory.

“I have dedicated my career to academic teaching and scholarship,” Flisfeder said in an affidavit filed in court. “My professional reputation is of fundamental importance to my livelihood and standing within the academic community.”

The filing seeks injunctions from the court, ordering the people behind the accounts to delete the statements and to restrain them from publishing further statements.

The accounts were actively posting between last June and December. All but one of the accounts have been deleted after Flisfeder’s complaints to the companies.

“My professional reputation is of fundamental importance to my livelihood and standing within the academic community.”

Meta and X are named in the court action as the social media giants have, thus far, declined to reveal who operated the accounts, the court filing says.

Flisfeder’s lawyers also filed a notice of motion, seeking to have a judge order Meta and X to disclose information — such as names, email addresses and Internet Protocol addresses — associated with the accounts within 30 days of a hearing, scheduled for later this month.

Once the identity of the account holders is revealed, says the notice of motion, Flisfeder intends to amend his lawsuit to name the individuals responsible for the statements as defendants.

Prof. Jennifer Schulz, of the University of Manitoba’s law school, said people defamed by anonymous social media accounts typically must seek court orders to force social media companies to disclose information on the account holders in order to proceed with legal action.

“Unfortunately, you do (have to seek a court order) and it’s really frustrating for the victim, because the poster is anonymous and seems to be acting with impunity,” she said.

“Usually, big organizations like Meta and X don’t want to reveal (the information) because their whole thing will be ‘freedom of expression, we want to keep our platforms open, etc.’”

She said there’s a tension in the law between balancing freedom of expression and the rights of individuals to have their reputations protected.

“Unfortunately, you do (have to seek a court order) and it’s really frustrating for the victim, because the poster is anonymous and seems to be acting with impunity.”

The Instagram account that remains active posted photos of Flisfeder’s published books, as well as other books, accompanied by “offensive and vulgar reviews or commentary falsely attributed” to him, the court filing says.

The same account also published videos in which the professor’s face and likeness were digitally superimposed onto another body, “depicting the plaintiff purportedly speaking about various issues in a manner designed to defame the plaintiff,” reads the court filing.

The defamatory statements made on the accounts, the court filing argues, were meant to falsely claim he sexually harasses and improperly pursues students, conducts himself in an inappropriate way, is incompetent and has extreme political views.

The statements disparage his reputation and injured his character, his court filing says, and have caused him emotional and mental distress.

One of Flisfeder’s lawyers, Simon Garfinkel, declined to comment at this stage of the litigation.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca