defamation n. (14c) 1. Malicious or groundless harm to the reputation or good name of another by the making of a false statement to a third person. • If the alleged defamation involves a matter of public concern, the plaintiff is constitutionally required to prove both the statement's falsity and the defendant's fault. 2. A false written or oral statement that damages another's reputation. See LIBEL; SLANDER. Cf. DISPARAGEMENT. — defame, vb.
- criminal defamation. (18c) Defamation that is defined as a crime by statute.
- defamation per quod. (1915) Defamation that either (1) is not apparent but is proved by extrinsic evidence showing its injurious meaning or (2) is apparent but is not a statement that is actionable per se.
- defamation per se. (1928) A statement that is defamatory in and of itself and is not capable of an innocent meaning.
- oral defamation. See SLANDER.
- trade defamation. (1933) The damaging of a business by a false statement that tends to diminish the reputation of that business. • Trade defamation may be trade libel if it is recorded, or trade slander if it is not. — Also termed commercial defamation. Cf. TRADE DISPARAGEMENT.
- written defamation. See LIBEL (1), (2).
Defamation, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).
libel (lI-bəl) n. (14c) 1. A defamatory statement expressed in a fixed medium, esp. writing but also a picture, sign, or electronic broadcast. • Libel is classified as both a crime and a tort but is no longer prosecuted as a crime. — Also termed defamatory libel. 2. The act of making such a statement; the unprivileged publication of defamatory matter by written or printed words, by its embodiment in physical form or by any other form of communication that has the potentially harmful qualities characteristic of written or printed words. — Also termed (in senses 1 & 2) written defamation. See DEFAMATION. Cf. SLANDER.
“The distinction itself between libel and slander is not free from difficulty and uncertainty. As it took form in the seventeenth century, it was one between written and oral words. But later on libel was extended to include pictures, signs, statues, motion pictures, and even conduct carrying a defamatory imputation, such as hanging the plaintiff in effigy, erecting a gallows before his door, dishonoring his valid check drawn upon the defendant's bank, or even … following him over a considerable period in a conspicuous manner. From this it has been concluded that libel is that which is communicated by the sense of sight, or perhaps also by touch or smell, while slander is that which is conveyed by the sense of hearing.” W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts § 112, at 786 (5th ed. 1984).
“Libel is written or visual defamation; slander is oral or aural defamation.” Robert D. Sack & Sandra S. Baron, Libel, Slander, and Related Problems § 2.3, at 67 (2d ed. 1994).
- blasphemous libel. (17c) Hist. Criminal law. The obsolete offense committed by one who vilified Jesus Christ, the Bible, the Christian religion, the Book of Common Prayer, or the Christian deity.
- criminal libel. (17c) At common law, a malicious libel that is designed to expose a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule and that may subject the author to criminal sanctions. • Because of constitutional protections of free speech, libel is no longer criminally prosecuted.
- false-implication libel. Libel that creates a false implication or impression even though each statement in the article, taken separately, is true. See FALSE LIGHT; INVASION OF PRIVACY.
- group libel. (1940) Libel that defames a class of persons, esp. because of their race, sex, national origin, religious belief, or the like. • Civil liability for group libel is rare because the plaintiff must prove that the statement applied particularly to him or her. Cf. hate speech under SPEECH.
- libel per quod (pər kwod) (1927) 1. Libel that is actionable only on allegation and proof of special damages. • Most jurisdictions do not recognize libel per quod, holding instead that general damages from libel are presumed. 2. Libel in which the defamatory meaning is not apparent from the statement on its face but rather must be proved from extrinsic circumstances. See INNUENDO (2).
“Libel per quod differs from libel per se primarily in this, that in the case of libel per quod it is necessary to look beyond the face of the article to determine whether the imputations are calculated to hold the person up to public hatred, ridicule, or contempt, or otherwise come within the definition of ‘defamatory.’ Words fairly innocent on their face may be given a very definite defamatory hue when read in the light of special surrounding circumstances. These circumstances may constitute an extratextual context, so to speak, in the light of which the statement must be read, if its defamatory meaning is to become apparent. Put in another way, the distinction fundamentally is between patent defamation and latent, or covert defamation.” William G. Hale, The Law of the Press 55 (3d ed. 1948).
- libel per se (pər say) (1843) 1. Libel that is actionable in itself, requiring no proof of special damages. • Most jurisdictions do not distinguish between libel per se and libel per quod, holding instead that general damages from libel are presumed. 2. Libel that is defamatory on its face, such as the statement “Frank is a thief.”
- obscene libel. (18c) Hist. 1. The common-law crime of publishing, with the intent to corrupt, material (esp. sexual words or pictures) that tends to deprave or corrupt those whose minds are open to immoral influences. 2. A writing, book, picture, or print that is so obscene that it shocks the public sense of decency.
- seditious libel. (16c) Libel made with the intent of inciting sedition. • Like other forms of criminal libel, seditious libel is no longer prosecuted. See SEDITION.
“Historically, the offense of seditious libel has consisted of speech critical of government or government officials. The power to punish seditious libel has been used to justify direct suppression by means of formal criminal sanctions, and, as well, indirect suppression by less formal means such as networks of police spies and agents provocateurs. This power also has certain immutable characteristics — most notably an unconfined government discretion and the concomitant power of government officials to pick and choose the ideas that they would smother by threats of punishment, litigation costs, and stigma.” William T. Mayton, Seditious Libel and the Lost Guarantee of a Freedom of Expression, 84 Colum. L. Rev. 91, 91 (1984) (citations omitted).
- trade libel. (1880) Trade defamation that is written or recorded. See trade defamation under DEFAMATION; DISPARAGEMENT (3). Cf. trade slander under SLANDER.
3. The complaint or initial pleading in an admiralty or ecclesiastical case. — Also termed (in sense 3) libel of information.
“As described by the thirteenth-century canonist Guillelmus Durantis, the libel was ‘a small sheet, containing the plaintiff's petition, its cause and action.’ Usually the first document introduced after the constitution of proctors, the libel gave, in general terms, the allegations on which the suit was based. It closed with a request for a specific order by the court.” R.H. Helmholz, Marriage Litigation in Medieval England 13 (1974).
Libel, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).
slander n. (13c) 1. A defamatory assertion expressed in a transitory form, esp. speech; esp., false and defamatory words that are said in reference to another, such as those charging criminal conduct, imputing a horrible or loathsome disease, alleging malfeasance or incompetence in reference to the person's professional responsibilities, or otherwise causing special damage to the person's reputation. • Damages for slander — unlike those for libel — are not presumed and thus must be proved by the plaintiff (unless the defamation is slander per se). 2. The act of making such a statement. — Also termed oral defamation. See DEFAMATION. Cf. LIBEL (1), (2). — slander, vb. — slanderous, adj.
“Although [in English law] libel and slander are for the most part governed by the same principles, there are two important differences: (1) Libel is not merely an actionable tort, but also a criminal offence, whereas slander is a civil injury only. (2) Libel is in all cases actionable per se; but slander is, save in special cases, actionable only on proof of actual damage. This distinction has been severely criticised as productive of great injustice.” R.F.V. Heuston, Salmond on the Law of Torts 139 (17th ed. 1977).
- slander per quod. (18c) Slander that does not qualify as slander per se, thus forcing the plaintiff to prove special damages.
- slander per se. (1841) Slander for which special damages need not be proved because it imputes to the plaintiff any one of the following: (1) a crime involving moral turpitude, (2) a loathsome disease (such as a sexually transmitted disease), (3) conduct that would adversely affect one's business or profession, or (4) unchastity (esp. of a woman).
- trade slander. (1923) Trade defamation that is spoken but not recorded. See trade defamation under DEFAMATION. Cf. trade libel under LIBEL.
Slander, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).