As Featured In:

The New York TimesThe Wall Street JournalThe Washington Post
EntrepreneurInc.CNNWebby Award Honoree

Selected as one of the best newsletters on the Internet by the Webby Awards!

MAY 26, 2023|SOCIAL MEDIA


Should Social Media Humiliation Be Part Of A Legal Punishment?


Spanish YouTuber Dalas Review reading his sentence on camera

A Spanish YouTuber known as Dalas Review (real name Daniel Santomé) was involved in what would ordinarily be a forgettable legal case only tabloids would follow. After a messy breakup with his girlfriend, he posted nine videos to more than 10 million subscribers on his popular YouTube channel calling her father an “abuser,” and a “sick coward who’s messed up in the head.” After a judge found him liable for defamation, he ordered an unusual sentence. In addition to paying the fine, he was ordered to "read his sentence weekly on his channel for a month."

In essence, the ruling uses the YouTuber's fame against him. Is this a precedent we might start to see in other legal cases? And is it even ethical to mandate humiliation as a punishment? This may seem like an innocent and clear cut case ... after all, he did use his platform to commit the crime, in the eyes of the judge, so there is a certain symmetry to the ruling. I can see both sides here. What do you think?

Share

Book Rohit To Speak

Want to bring these ideas to your next event?

Rohit turns the thinking behind posts like this one into keynotes for audiences around the world, from Fortune 500 leadership teams to global industry conferences.

Learn More About Speaking
Rohit Bhargava delivering a keynote

Related Categories

How It All Started

A Short Backstory Of This Blog

This is a blog about non-obvious ideas. Originally launched on the Typepad platform in 2005 as the Influential Marketing blog, the stories at first focused mainly on digital marketing while Rohit worked at Ogilvy Advertising. In 2015 Rohit officially rebranded to the Non-Obvious Insights Blog and published his WSJ bestseller Non-Obvious. For the past twenty one years, this blog has coined new terms, introduced future marketing practices and inspired the next generation of non-obvious thinkers and marketers.

Want More Non-Obvious Ideas?

Join 100K+ ReadersTo Get Weekly Insights

The Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter brings you the five or six most fascinating and overlooked stories of the week, with a quick take on why each one matters.

    One email every Thursday. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

    ×