[dudefeliciano]

My question was specifically about being jailed for expressing their opinion? Is this something that happens all the time in Germany (from what you wrote I would say no. It's a hassle but at most you get a fine that you can appeal, right?). Americans seem to think that people post a meme and end up in an american style max-security federal prison or something, while actually the offender gets a minor slap on the wrist.

[neffy]

If that, as @acatton says. It is certainly not happening all the time. There are laws around libel and slander, which are more aimed at civility than anything else, but its rare that they make it to actual court. In Britain at least there is a long held tradition, and some rightly infamous accompanying libel cases, where 1 farthing/penny/pound damages (inflation has had some effect I guess) were awarded in an ok, you win but the moral case was with the defendant signal. One of the more recent:

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/judge-right-to-award-lying-...

[OKRainbowKid]

It doesn't happen, unless your opinion is something very specific like holocaust denial and you double down on it multiple times. People do not get jailed for posting memes.

[dingnuts]

here you go, guy got jail time for a crude joke in the UK

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-43478925

[dudefeliciano]

This is exactly why I asked for credible sources. This man never got any jail time (even a cursory search of the article you linked shows that), if anything this stunt made his youtube career take off.

"Meechan was sentenced to a fine of £800, with no prison sentence." i mean his video probably made more money than that...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/count-dankula-na...