Riccardo Silva seeks court's help to reveal identities of social media users calling him 'next Jeffrey Epstein'
MIAMI, FLORIDA: A modeling agency mogul is taking legal action after anonymous Twitter and Reddit users ran a campaign to defame him as "the next Jeffrey Epstein." Riccardo Silva, the owner of Silva International Investments and co-owner of Italian soccer giants AC Milan, has requested a federal judge to order Reddit and Twitter to reveal the identity of users allegedly smearing him online.
Silva, best known as the head of Select Model Management, has a decorated reputation as a philanthropist and megadonor to Florida International University, where they named the football stadium after him. According to his court documents, Silva has been accused of “serial sexual abuse” and “sexual harassment” that his lawyers say “falsely liken him to the conduct of [Jeffrey] Epstein—one of the most notorious sex offenders in American history.” Silva claims that the accusations have even been made on moving billboards that are present throughout Miami, according to Daily Beast.
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"The statements - on their face - falsely accuse Mr. Silva of egregious criminal acts that are capable of being proven that they did not occur as a matter of fact. Likewise, the context of the statements suggests that Mr. Silva committed egregious criminal acts of sexual misconduct," Silva’s lawyer argues in a pair of court motions in the US District Court for Northern California earlier this week. His lawyers also contend that his "due process rights will continue to be prejudiced” without Reddit and Twitter's assistance in identifying people making the defaming accusations, according to Daily Mail.
How the string of accusations against Riccardo Silva started
"Mr. Silva and his family are the victims of a vicious, anonymous defamation campaign," a spokesman for Silva told The Daily Beast. "Each of the anonymous statements attacking Mr. Silva is false and defamatory and he vehemently denies them. He has, accordingly, brought his defamation lawsuit against the wrongdoers and is taking all available measures to reveal the identities of the anonymous culprits, who have gone to extreme lengths to cover their tracks and avoid answering for their misdeeds."
The public allegations against Silva began to emerge with the mobile billboard, which drove around Silva's Miami Beach condo in December of 2022. The Tycoon’s 17-year-old son spotted the billboard and was "devastated to see his father portrayed in this way." Silva adds that in addition to those billboards, the person who made them also started a website, a Twitter account, and a subreddit to disparage him. In a federal lawsuit filed earlier this week, Silva demanded that Reddit provide the identities of "several anonymous individuals" from a variety of subreddits, including r/metoo, r/modeling, r/sexualassault, r/TwoXChromosomes, r/abusesurvivors, and r/emotional abuse.
'Mr Silva is eager to have his day in court'
Additionally, the anonymous posters established a forum just for discussing Silva and tagged members of these other subreddits "to deliberately ensure that followers of those forums would see the statements." Later, Silva filed a second motion asking Twitter to identify and publicly name the owner of a Twitter account making identical claims. The business tycoon is desperate to halt these accusations as he even hired a private investigator to track down his anonymous accusers.
The business that operated the initial mobile billboards is now in mediation with Silva's legal team. According to Silva's attorneys, who are suing for damages, he will prevail in court with the help of these social media giants. "Mr. Silva is eager to have his day in court so that the truth can prevail and the anonymous culprits face the consequences for their damaging campaign and their reprehensible, dishonest actions," his spokesman said