Get USLegal Guide to Defamation; Libel and Slander

They must have demonstrated “reckless disregard for the truth”—either a lack of fact-checking, or printing the false story in spite of knowing the facts. This is a much higher standard to overcome, which makes it more difficult for public figures to win defamation lawsuits against the media.

A: Yes it is a little harder because public figures have more factors to prove. ... Private individuals need only establish that the publisher acted with "negligence." However, where public figures are concerned, the courts have found that there is a lessened interest in protecting the defamed subject's reputation.

The court made a rule that public officials could sue for statements made about their public conduct only if the statements were made with "actual malice." ... A private person who is defamed can prevail without having to prove that the defamer acted with actual malice.

2d 1094 (1967). A public figure could also be someone who voluntarily enters the public eye because of a particular public issue or controversy. ... If a public official or public figure believes that he or she has been defamed, he or she must prove with convincing evidence that the statement is false.

For example, if a person was working a $100,000 job and the slander caused him or her to be fired and to be ostracized from the position and was only able to earn $50,000, the annual amount of damages would start at $50,000.

A person who wishes to successfully sue you for libel must generally prove the statement is false. In most states, truth is a complete defense to a libel action. You generally can't sue if the statement in question is true, no matter how unpleasant the statement or the results of its publication.

Under common law, to constitute defamation, a claim must generally be false and must have been made to someone other than the person defamed. Some common law jurisdictions also distinguish between spoken defamation, called slander, and defamation in other media such as printed words or images, called libel.

If you meet the requirements for a civil action, you can sue someone for defamation, whether libel or slander, if they have written or said something bad about you. However, you must be able to prove the necessary elements of a defamation suit if you wish to collect damages.

That the defendant made a statement of fact to one or more other persons; That the statement was about the plaintiff; That the statement was defamatory; and.

Definition. Libel is a method of defamation expressed by print, writing, pictures, signs, effigies, or any communication embodied in physical form that is injurious to a person's reputation, exposes a person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or injures a person in his/her business or profession.