Resource: The Print https://theprint.in/world/judge-jury-and-social-media-trial-why-johnny-depp-lost-libel-suit-in-uk-but-won-in-us/984386/
In Depp’s case in the UK, the burden of proof lay with The Sun, but in the US, it was Depp who had to persuade the jury that Heard not only defamed him, but did so with malice.
In other words, in the UK, plaintiffs have to show that a false and defamatory statement was made, but in the US they also have to prove an added element of actual malice.
But what really turned the tide in Depp’s favour in the US was the jury as opposed to a single judge in the UK. Experts have highlighted how Depp used a strategy called “deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender” or “Darvo” — a common defence tactic in sexual assault and domestic violence trials.
The strategy, experts say, is “very, very effective against juries” although “lawyers and judges tend not to fall for it” because they are trained to look at evidence.
In this case, Depp’s lawyers employed the tactic effectively, turning him into the victim and Heard the abuser.
The same strategy that was employed in social media as well — the hashtag #justiceforjohnnydepp received 19 billion views on TikTok and trended for weeks on Twitter. It resulted in drawing public attention to the trial — polls reportedly showed that Americans showed more interest in the courtroom drama than the ongoing war in Ukraine or the historic ruling on abortion expected any day from the US Supreme Court.
Although jurors were instructed not to read about the case online, they were not sequestered or isolated, and were allowed to keep their phones.