On Wednesday Clarke Gayford became the top trending search result on Google in New Zealand, as people who had managed to avoid the false rumours surrounding him tried to get in on the gossip.
No media outlet has repeated what has this week been confirmed as fibs in a highly unusual press release sent out by police.
The rumours have been circulating for several months now. Most New Zealand media outlets - including Newshub, NZ Herald and Stuff have now confirmed they had followed up on the rumours (just as any significant rumour would be followed up), but found they appeared to have little substance.
Politik editor Richard Harman told The AM Show he suspects the political right-wing likely started the rumour, which the National Party has fiercely denied.
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The subject of the smear campaign, Mr Gayford himself, stayed quiet.
Newshub reporters have received a number of inquiries from members of the public, so here's why we can't, and won't say any more.
Defamation laws in New Zealand prevent media from publishing anything which would unjustifiably damage a person's reputation. 'Damaging' is defined as something which could lower the opinion of a person in the minds of right thinking members of society, or something which could make others shun or avoid a person.
'Unjustifiably' means to say something which does not have any truth behind it. Repeating the rumour, even if it is made clear that it is no more than a rumour, would be considered defamatory. Even something that is widely spread on social media can get the media in trouble if they choose to repeat it. 'They said it first' is not a defence.
This was reiterated by Mr Gayford's lawyer on Wednesday, who said in a letter to media that action would be taken against anyone who published the rumour.
"The [NZ Herald] article confirmed via a statement from NZ Police that Mr Gayford is not and has not been the subject of a police inquiry and has never been charged in relation to any matter," law firm Kensington Swan said.
"These allegations (which the NZ Herald did not publish) are untrue and defamatory."
That said - the rumours are not worth repeating, or trying to find. If you didn't hear the gossip, consider yourself lucky that you obviously run in more respectable social media circles.
Newshub.
