libel

Libel and slander are the legal subcategories of defamation. Generally speaking, libel is defamation in written words, pictures, or any other visual symbols in a print or electronic medium. Slander is spoken defamation. The advent of early broadcast communications (radio and television) in the 20th…

In the field of libel, U.S. practice is less strict than the English. In the United States public figures cannot sue for honest but unfair and untrue criticisms of their activities, whereas in England published facts must be true and comments fair. In some Australian states truth is not…

…United States the law of libel (see defamation) concerning public figures actively protects free speech inasmuch as, under the doctrine of New York Times v. Sullivan (1964), plaintiffs who are public figures cannot win unless they prove that the libeler acted with “actual malice” (that he knowingly asserted a false…

The old distinction between libel and slander (defamatory matter in permanent and in transient form, respectively) is preserved; the plaintiff is not entitled to legal aid (with the practical consequence that only wealthy people can afford to sue); the action can succeed without any proof of special damage (giving…

…Great Britain, the law of libel presents insuperable problems to novelists who, innocent of libellous intent, are nevertheless sometimes charged with defamation by persons who claim to be the models for characters in works of fiction. Disclaimers to the effect that “resemblances to real-life people are wholly coincidental” have no…

…unanimously (9–0) that, for a libel suit to be successful, the complainant must prove that the offending statement was made with “ ‘actual malice’—that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.” Specifically, the case involved an advertisement that appeared…

…courts under the law of libel. This was also the case in Britain after the lapsing of the Licensing Act in 1694; but two important steps had yet to be taken: in 1766, Parliament put an end to general warrants (i.e., for the arrest of unnamed persons and for the…