Leader of the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) party and former government minister Simona Broomes has secured a significant legal victory against social media personality Mikhail Rodrigues, widely known as the “Guyanese Critic.” The High Court ruled on Friday that Rodrigues must pay $8 million in damages for making defamatory statements about Broomes on his Facebook livestream earlier this year.
The lawsuit, which was filed by Broomes in February 2024, stemmed from remarks Rodrigues made during a January 22 broadcast on his program “Morning Live With The Critic” via his platform, They Break News. In that livestream, Rodrigues falsely accused Broomes of being involved in human trafficking and claimed she had used her position as a former government minister to halt mining operations for personal gain.
Justice Precilla Hanif, in delivering her decision, found the accusations to be libellous and damaging, awarding Broomes $5 million for the human trafficking allegation and another $3 million for the mining-related claim.
The Court emphasised that Rodrigues’ statements were both unfounded and injurious to Broomes’ character and reputation.
Additionally, the Court issued a mandatory order for Rodrigues to remove all related defamatory content from his social media platforms. Interest on the judgment will accrue from the date the claim was initially filed.
This case adds to a growing list of legal defeats for Rodrigues. Earlier this week, in a separate lawsuit, he was ordered—along with columnist Freddie Kissoon and their media entity—to pay $6 million to a former APNU+AFC Member of Parliament Richard Allen for defamatory social media posts. Rodrigues had accused Allen issuing ID cards to Haitians to vote in Guyana’s Elections.
In yet another ruling delivered in March 2025, Rodrigues was instructed to pay a staggering $52 million in damages to the Mohamed family, prominent local businessmen, for similar defamatory online claims.
Rodrigues’ repeated legal troubles signal a rising pushback against misinformation and reputational attacks on social media, as public figures increasingly turn to the courts to seek redress.
