Criminal Identification of "Fabricating Facts" in Online Defamation

The identification of "fabricating facts" in the crime of defamation under Article 246 of the Criminal Law has presented various new and difficult-to-regulate forms in the online context, necessitating the refinement and reconstruction of the scope of the "fabrication" element. In reality, the subject, victim, and defamatory facts of online defamation are characterized by a certain degree of ambiguity and difficulty in qualitative analysis. In judicial practice, the serious harm to online public order caused by the dissemination of fabricated facts is similar to the consequences of disturbing public order, which together make the attribution of liability for online defamation difficult. In response, it is necessary to further clarify the subject's liability, appropriately expand the scope of tampering with facts as stipulated in judicial interpretations, distinguish the differences between this crime and other crimes from the perspectives of the subject and legal interest protection, and enrich the theoretical direction for the judicial identification of online defamation.