alt Hacker NewsAnyone can sue, but has there been a case of a fortune teller actually losing? What if there was no involvement from the fortune teller at all, like if the client asked "is my wife cheating on me", and all 3 cards drawn were in the affirmative?
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Yes, people have lost libel and defamation suits. Its not like being a fortune teller means you can magically lie.
Fortune telling is a bad strawman and you know it. Fortune tellers talk with one person, give vague advice, and may destroy a relationship at worst.
If a Fortune teller published articles claiming false things about random prople, gave dangerous medical advice, claiming to be a Nigerian prince, or convinced you to put all your savings into bitcoin; the "entertainment purposes" shield dissolves quite quickly.
Google makes an authorative statement on top of the worlds most used search engine, in a similar way they previously did with Wikipedia for relevant topics.
The little disclaimer should not shield them from doing real tangible harm to people.
Fortune telling for profit is illegal in several big US states and other jurisdictions, including e.g. Pennsylvania and New York, for the same kinds of reasons being discussed. It’s not ok to make things up to make a profit unless you’re doing so purely for entertainment, i.e. it’s understood that the statements are fictional.
The Google disclaimer should probably be upfront and say something more like, “The following statements are fictional, provided for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to persons living or dead are purely coincidental.”