Is it fair to write a tell-all book about a dead person who isn't around to defend himself or herself? Why or why not?

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quesera | 2 years, 5 months ago

I believe it is ethical, but that the author has a heavy moral obligation to be as accurate as humanly possible. Speculations or "creative liberty" should be avoided, and if used, very, very clearly labeled as such. I look at things like movies, where history has been changed in the interest of making for a more interesting movie, and people take it as truth. While that is foolishness on their part, the printed word tends to be given more credibility, so a responsible author would recognize this and work hard to make sure that their books was factual and as idiot-proof as possible.

Biographies are great reads, and I think they help avoid the phenomenon of historical figures becoming archetypes or two-dimensional heroes or villains.

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lidyax2 | 2 years, 5 months ago

Of course it is fair. That is called history. Without it, we won't have biographies of George Washington, Hitler, Abraham Lincoln, and every famous people in history.

I believe that when people are dead, they are gone, what matters to the living is now the consequences of the deceased actions. What remains to us is their memories, either good or bad. The books are for the living, for us to know the truth, to learn from their accomplishments and mistakes. Some things are hidden after their death, and therefor some books, a lot of books, are written after the persons have died.

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comedycat | 2 years, 5 months ago

Yes, it is fair to write a tell-all book about a dead person. In fact, dead people are the only people you may write a tell-all book without the subject's permission! Dead or not, when writing a tell-all book about a person other than yourself, be sure to tell the truth in your book. How can a dead person get angry? At any rate, survivors of the dead one may think you are slandering their loved one, so be careful in what you say and how you say it. And to the best of my knowledge, once we are dead, our lives are public record. So just to be safe, be good or you may find yourself the subject of a tell-all book later!

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thebandit | 2 years, 5 months ago

Of course it's fair. If you have true things to say, there should be absolutely nothing stopping you from saying them. It's the very foundation of the First Amendment -- discovery of the truth. It doesn't magically become less important just because someone is no longer living.

That said, it's your moral duty to tell the truth and not to lie. You won't get in trouble either way -- dead people can't sue for libel, and others can't sue on their behalf in the US legal system -- but since you'll be shaping their reputation with only secondhand defenses possible, you had better make sure that you're putting truth out there and not lies. Whatever you write will spread.

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