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Comment by londons_explore | Hacker News Reader

Not many people have 6 figures lying around to pay... I think most regular people, faced with the offer of a 6 figure settlement, would probably fight it to the bitter end in court, before claiming bankruptcy.

I wonder if this might have been someone famous for whom 6 figures is expensive but not worth the PR damage?

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> I wonder if this might have been someone famous for whom 6 figures is expensive but not worth the PR damage?

This is in Northern Ireland - being outed for a political disagreement on Irish Nationalism vs Unionist sentiment goes way beyond mere "PR damage" and may easily threaten life and limb. (see The IRA, The Troubles, Good Friday Agreement, and the current debate of the GFA brought on by Brexit)

Or the people/organizations funding the troll agreed to pay the settlement

This was my thought. Extremely unlikely a regular internet troll has that kind of money.

Fighting to the bitter end might involve lawyer fees > the settlement amount.

I get the feeling, too, he had a hunch who it was from the beginning.

I think a _ton_ of people would come up with 6 figures if the alternative was jail time.

It doesn't have to be cash in the bank -- take out debt, remortgage your house, sell your car, borrow from friends and family, etc.

I don’t know UK law, but can a libel suit end in jail? Isn’t this civil versus criminal?

No it is a civil matter in the US at least.

I believe the criminal offence of libel (defamatory libel) was abolished in 2010, not sure if there's any other

It could also simply be a legal contract for the anonymous individual to pay Nolan directly. Whatever the court settlement equivalent of seller's financing is!

> alternative was jail time

Who's going to jail in this situation? It's not criminal and we don't have debtors' jails here in the UK.

There is a "hidden", for lack of better word, world of commercial and political pysops most people are never exposed to beyond their social media feeds. Often masked in marketing, but even more so in blanketed initiatives run by individuals (both directly & indirectly affiliated to their organization) who typically find these capabilities more coincidentally than anything... & end up funding private, or even well-presented, analytics firms that engage in an array of trolling-like behavior through even further outsourcing. I mean everyone knows Cambridge Analytica.

Disclaimer - not speaking for myself, employer, or previous work in the armed forces.

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