A 74 years old Australian man has been awarded $115,000 in damages caused by a libelous Facebook post about his business, and has come as a  good reminder that you can't just say anything on social media.

Kenneth Rothe, the man awarded the damages, owned two hotels, the Nirvana Village and Blue Dolphin Motels, that are located in the Australian coastal town of Nambucca where he lived with his family.

One day, all of a sudden, his hotels were accused of being a haven to pedophiles, a claim that the judge would later determine was baseless.

In March 2014, electrician David Scott posted, "Pedophile [sic] warning:- Nambucca has been used as a relocation for these monsters - blue dolphin -nirvana hotel and above the Indian restaurant! ...Bus stops are right out front of theses hotels for our children?"

One news channel reported that Rothe often offered accommodations to people dealing with family disputes, but never to pedophiles. In the wake of the Facebook post, Rothe had started to receive numerous anonymous phone calls, and he said that his life was threatened on two different occasions.

One assault left him hospitalized for six months. Eventually, his family moved out of the coastal village.

By Prakriti Neogi