THE LIE THAT MADE THE FRONT PAGE

On 23 June 2011, the Irish Sun published an allegation that music manager and X Factor judge Louis Walsh had sexually assaulted a man in a Dublin nightclub.

The allegation had been made by Leonard Watters, who claimed Walsh had groped him in the toilets of Krystle nightclub following a Westlife concert. Walsh denied it completely. Nevertheless, the story was published and circulated widely before the evidence had been tested.

Gardaí examined CCTV from the nightclub. The footage did not support Watters' account. When confronted with it, he admitted that the allegation was false.

Walsh was never charged with any offence. Watters instead pleaded guilty to making two false reports to Gardaí and publicly withdrew his claims. In January 2012, he was sentenced to six months in prison. His subsequent appeal failed, with a Circuit Court judge describing the evidence contradicting his story as "irrefutable."

Walsh also brought defamation proceedings against the publisher of the Irish Sun. In November 2012, News Group Newspapers agreed to pay him €500,000 plus his legal costs. An apology read before the High Court accepted without reservation that the alleged assault had never occurred.

The outcome was unusually conclusive. CCTV contradicted the accusation. The accuser admitted inventing it. He was convicted for making false reports. The newspaper apologised and paid substantial damages.

But the allegation had already travelled around the world.

Walsh later described the effect on himself, his family and his friends as devastating. He said that even after the story was disproved, some people would continue to believe there was "no smoke without fire."

There was no fire. There was footage, an admission, a conviction and a public apology confirming that the story was false. What could not be withdrawn was the audience it had already reached.

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