• Obtaining disclosure from Instagram
• Exposing the user of a fake Instagram account
• Social media defamation

Facebook disclosure without a court order

Not everyone can afford to pay for a court order to force Facebook to reveal the identity of someone who has defamed them. In many cases, people who suffer defamation on Facebook are ordinary working people. If you face this problem, you still have options that will likely to save you many thousands of pounds on disclosure proceedings. This is how we helped our client, Laura, identify an anonymous Facebook user who defamed her without going down the costly court route.

From a stray cat to a Facebook defamation nightmare

Accused online by an anonymous Facebook user -what can you do

Your legal rights if you’re defamed on Facebook

How our legal team helped identify the anonymous Facebook defamer

Lawyer’s thoughts on the case

From a stray cat to a Facebook defamation nightmare

Laura (not her real name), an ordinary school teacher, noticed a stray cat coming to her front garden for several months. So she and her husband, along with a few caring neighbours, fed the cat they named Daisy, cared for her through pregnancy, and even arranged for veterinary treatment for her and her kittens.

At no stage did anyone come forward to claim the cat, nor did anyone posted locally about a missing cat. One day, Daisy went missing so Laura posted a message in her neighbourhood Facebook group hoping someone might have seen her. She could never have expected the backlash that followed.

Accused online by an anonymous Facebook user -what can you do

An individual using the alias “Sam Grant” responded publicly to Laura’s Facebook post, claiming to be Daisy’s rightful owner. The poster accused Laura of being a “cat thief” and of falsely microchipping someone else’s pet.

The defamatory posts and related messages were shared by "Sam Grant" with thousands of Facebook group members. As someone working in education, Laura feared these false accusations would affect her job, especially since many schools review staff’s social media history under safeguarding guidelines. 

Your legal rights if you’re defamed on Facebook

Laura reached out to our firm seeking help to restore her good name and reputation. She wanted to clear her name and set the record straight, but her accuser was anonymous and using a fake profile. This is increasingly common in local Facebook groups, where some Facebook users take the liberty of making serious false allegations under a cloak of anonymity.

In situations like this, it’s important to understand your options. First, UK defamation law requires that the statements made must cause serious harm to your reputation and be published to a third party.

Where the person making the posts is anonymous, the first step is to try to identify them, sometimes through open-source digital investigation or, in certain cases, via legal disclosure applications to social media companies.

Second, time is of the essence. There is only a one-year window to bring a defamation claim in the UK, and this clock usually starts running from the date of publication. The sooner you act, the better.

How our legal team helped identify the anonymous Facebook defamer

Our team began by carefully reviewing all evidence Laura provided, such as screenshots, posts, and conversations. What set our firm apart is our ability to use our in-house OSINT department. OSINT, or Open Source Intelligence, is the practice of gathering and analysing information from publicly available sources on the internet, and by leveraging access to a range of specialist investigative tools and databases, some of which are used by banks to detect fraud and to carry out advance identification processes.  

These resources allow us to uncover details that are not immediately obvious through standard internet searches, making OSINT a powerful asset for unmasking anonymous users and building solid legal cases. Having this expertise in-house is essential for us to be able to unravel the identity of anonymous Facebook useers, without having to go to court for disclsoure applications. This ability also helps us to quickly and efficiently trace anonymous users, investigate digital footprints, and secure evidence that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Our OSINT team, conducted a thorough online investigation to try to unmask the individual behind “Sam Grant”. This process can be complex and isn’t always successful, but in this case, the team's persistence paid off.

We followed several leads, searching public records and analysing online activity, until we eventually identified the real person responsible for the defamatory posts. 

Once we had identified the correct individual, we formally sent him a cease and desist letter in defamation(a letter before legal action). This letter demanded that the Facebook (no longer) anonymous user retract the allegations and cease and desist any futher defamatory activities against our client, pending legal proceedings. 

Laura's matter was quickley resolved. All the defamatory posts were removed and she was able to move on with her life without having to spend a great deal of money on legal proceedings and formal disclosure applications.

Lawyer’s thoughts on the case

It’s often the seemingly minor matters that can escalate into life-changing events for ordinary people. This case highlights how quickly online defamation can turn someone’s life upside down, affecting everything from local friendships to employment and mental wellbeing.

At our firm, we recognise that not everyone has the means for lengthy legal battles. Yet, we still wish to help as many people as possible who suffer defamation on Facebook or elsewhere on the internet. 

We take pride in offering affordable, results-focused guidance and solutiojhs to our clients, so that people like Laura can regain their peace of mind and reputation. On this occasion, our approach succeeded: we found out who was behind the anonymous posts and helped Laura bring the situation to a close, without the need for costly litigation or disclosure application. In our view, that’s just as valuable as a courtroom win.