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Defamation Law Basics
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Actual Malice
Actual malice is a legal standard applied to defamation cases involving public figures, where the plaintiff must prove the defendant knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Single Publication Rule
The single publication rule is a legal doctrine that treats the circulation of a libelous statement in multiple copies as one single publication, limiting the number of lawsuits to one.
Fair Comment
Fair comment is a defense in defamation actions asserting that the statements in question were non-malicious comments on matters of public interest.
Publication of Private Facts
Publication of private facts is the public disclosure of information that is not of public concern and the publication of which would be offensive to a reasonable person.
Qualified Privilege
Qualified privilege allows a person to make statements that may be defamatory without being held liable if made in good faith and with an appropriate level of interest or duty.
Defamation per quod
Defamation per quod requires the plaintiff to prove the defamatory nature of the statement and usually show how the defamation caused damage.
Trade Libel
Trade libel is the publication of a false statement that disparages a business product or service and results in monetary loss.
Defamation
Defamation is a statement that injures a third party's reputation. The tort of defamation includes both libel (written statements) and slander (spoken statements).
Libel
Libel refers to defamatory statements that are made in a fixed medium, typically written but also presented in pictures, signs, or electronic broadcasts.
Slander
Slander involves defamatory statements that are spoken and not fixed in a permanent form.
Innocent Dissemination
Innocent dissemination is a defense in defamation cases where a party, without knowing the content was defamatory, distributes it. Examples include vendors of books or newspapers.
Retraction
A retraction is a statement that clarifies or corrects previously issued information, which can mitigate damages in a defamation lawsuit if done promptly and adequately.
Absolute Privilege
Absolute privilege is an immunity from defamation suits, granted in certain situations where public policy favors complete freedom of speech, such as during legislative sessions.
Seditious Libel
Seditious libel is a defamatory statement against the government or its officials, historically used to punish political dissent. Modernly, this is rare due to free speech protections.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
Section 230 provides immunity to online intermediaries (like Internet Service Providers and social media platforms) from liability for content posted by their users.
Malicious Falsehood
Malicious falsehood is making a false statement knowingly without legal justification, with the intent to cause damage to another person's business, professional reputation, or economic interests.
Negligence
In defamation law, negligence refers to the failure to exercise reasonable care to avoid making false or defamatory statements about someone else.
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
This is a landmark 1964 Supreme Court case that established the 'actual malice' standard for press reports about public officials or public figures to be considered defamatory or libelous.
Defamation per se
Defamation per se are statements that are presumed to be harmful to someone’s reputation without the need for further proof, such as allegations of criminal behavior or a statement harmful to someone’s business.
Privileged Statements
Privileged statements are those that the law protects from defamation claims, including those made during legislative and judicial proceedings, and certain government statements.
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