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Is mentioning a person negatively in the media considered backbiting (Gheebah), and for whom is backbiting permissible?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Mentioning something about a person that he dislikes is backbiting. Its ugliness increases if it is done through media outlets to spread defects. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, defined backbiting as "your mentioning about your brother what he dislikes." So, if what is said is true about him, then he has backbitten him; but if it is not true, then he has slandered him. Backbiting is forbidden by the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus. It is permissible to mention the faults of certain individuals in specific cases.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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