Vlogger and social media personality Yvonne Coldeweijer needs a rectification on her ‘juice’ channel Life of Yvonne places for a publication in which she accused singer Samantha Steenwijk of using illegal and dangerous slimming pills. That is what the court of Amsterdam has on Friday decided† She also pays for the 2,500 euros in legal costs of the opposing party. It is the first time that Coldeweijer has been involved in a civil lawsuit with her channel (she has more than 460,000 followers), in which the (journalistic) methods she uses have been judged.
One of the gossips that Coldewijer spread is that Steenwijk, known for, among other things, The Voice of Holland, Iomax pills used to lose weight. Pills of which a user can get a brain haemorrhage, according to side effects center Lareb. Coldewijer based herself on two sources who reached her via social media, but whose identity she has not disclosed. Steenwijk says the gossip is not true and that her reputation has been damaged unnecessarily.
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The judge considers Coldewijer a journalist
She is not an “investigative journalist” and it is only “juice” that she brings, the vlogger defended herself in court. But according to the court, which considers Coldeweijer to be a journalist, she presented the information not as gossip but as fact. The two sources cited are insufficient for “such a serious accusation”, according to the verdict, and because of her hundreds of thousands of followers, Coldewijer has “a certain responsibility”. While she cannot be expected to provide “conclusive evidence” before publishing anything, she must “prove sufficiently” that she has “serious evidence” of an accusation with these consequences. For example, Steenwijk “unintentionally became a role model for the use of illegal substances”.
Steenwijk had demanded, among other things, that Coldewijer would make her sources public. The judge’s vlogger does not have to do that, because of the journalistic right to source protection. However, she must post the rectification on her Instagram and YouTube account within 48 hours. Striking detail: the letters must be white and the background black – exactly like the text of the accusation. If she does not post a rectification, she must pay a penalty of 1,000 euros.
Afterwards, Coldewijer said on Instagram that she is happy with the judge’s ruling: she has now received “a manual” for her gossip. “That my sources are protected, because I am part of the press, is very important to me,” she wrote. That, she says, is “a win for all juice channels.”