188 One might be forgiven for being lost for words to characterise many of the tweets and comments. Counsel opted for "despicable" at one point, but that is barely to do justice to the hate-filled venom that was unleashed, when, as the evidence disclosed, Mr Greenwich was described as:
a "repugnant sodomite", "pathetic, childish and jelly spined", a "dirty, dung-punching POOFTER", a "FREAK in our society", a "disgusting gay fucker with poo on your hands", "fucked up", "abnormal", a "male poo pusher" who made the writer "want to throw up", "an Abomination of Nature", "a pompous little twat", a "dirty, filthy poofter", a "leftist moron", a "grubby little two faced coward" with "depraved habits", a "depraved grub", a "sodomite" who "will fry in hell like bacon", a "GRUB", a "disgusting poor excuse of a human being", "a snowflake and a virtue signalling, hate mongering, bigoted tosser", "disgusting" and someone the writer will think of "every time I take a shit", "ridiculous & childish", "a poor excuse low life unaustralian scumbag human being LGBTIQ freak", a "typical GRUB politician chasing the anal $$$$$$$$$$$$", a "DISGUSTING human being", "unnatural, immoral and unclean", a "Fucking Fairy Faggot", a "Horrible piece of Shit", a "Fucking poofta cunt", a man with "depraved sexuality", a "FAGGOT POOFTAH piece of Shit", "a disgusting human being" who should "bury your head in shame", a "soy boy", a "dirty f'n fuckin' cunt", "Miss Greenwich, poofter, paedophile, piece of shit faggot cunt", a "poor little faggot" and a "fucken piece of shit", "a disgusting paedophile", "a sick bastard", "you paedophile", a "dirty fucken poofter" who "should have been put down at birth I believe in poofter bashing", "a defect from your parents having sex" and a "GROOMER".
189 Mr Latham submitted that there was no reason to suppose that these comments reflect any widespread change in the views held by those who made them. Put another way, Mr Latham contended that it seemed likely that these individuals were already adversely disposed to Mr Greenwich, and that no "distinct particular serious allegation" in the primary tweet would lead to an inference of reputational damage. But that submission, again, does not grapple with the fact that the primary tweet carried the imputation that Mr Greenwich engages in disgusting sexual activities. A person who was not inclined to like Mr Greenwich because they had staunch views against homosexuality or his politics, when confronted with a "fresh" allegation that he engaged in disgusting sexual activities would have made readers of the primary tweet think worse of him. Compare Riley v Sivier at [114]–[115]. As Warby J said in Monroe v Hopkins [2017] 4 WLR 68; [2017] EWHC 433 (QB), "[i]t can add to the list of reasons to revile [him]".
190 Mr Greenwich also relied on a number of other unchallenged factual matters in support of his case that the primary tweet has caused serious harm to his reputation, viz:
- (a) the unchallenged evidence of Senior Electorate Officer, Mr Graham, was that prior to the time of the publication of the primary tweet (and DT Quotes), he had notGreenwich v Latham [2024] FCA 105054
