This makes it sound like public criticism is virtually impossible in the UK, as publishing negative information invariably impugns their reputation in somebody’s view. Or at least that case can be made trivially in court.
This makes it sound like public criticism is virtually impossible in the UK
No, it just means your right to public criticism is dependent entirely on the public opinion of what is and isn't off-limits. You can say pretty much whatever you want as long as you don't direct it at the wrong person. This is of course a situation most Americans would find horrific.
Well, no, that's not really how it works. In this case of course the "wrong person" would be someone who can prove that what you are saying is incorrect.
That's approximately correct. Public criticism is very, very difficult to do safely in the UK and that's for the lighter fare. The same is also true in, for example, France. Public criticism of officials (eg police) is legitimately dangerous and can easily get you a jail sentence.
