Libel Law Tips

Libel law is necessary for SNHU staff members to understand. With daily responsibilities like posts, campaigns, and reports, marketing staff members must follow these essential tips to avoid taking part in or providing libelous or defamatory information.

Best Tips for Media Use:

What is Libel?

Defamatory statements that are transmitted through written form, like signs, posts, photos, or print that are “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” (Cornell University Law School, n.d.)

Types of Libel Law:

• Defamation- false statements that intentionally harm the reputation or public image of either an individual, group, or entity.
• Slander- verbal defamation.
• Libel- written defamation.
• Libel per se- defamatory statement considered to be harmful at face value where plaintiffs would not need to prove special damages.
• Libel per Quod- defamatory statements that can only be proven when additional evidence proves harm or special damage was caused.
• Trade Libel- defamatory expressions against a product or business that can be proven as actual malice or an intent to harm a company, business, or organization (Moore and Murray, 2018).

Best Tips and Practices:

1. Report only the truth and ensure sources are credible- Within any situation, wrting the truth will ensure that accurate information is being provided to audiences. By confirming that reliable sources are utilized, one can lessen the risk of information being falsified or biased and thus making the writer untrustworthy.
2. Minimize harm for all parties involved- One should not report about sensitive topics that may make participants or followers embarrassed, conflicted, or harmed when exposed to newly published information, especially within cases of sexual abuse/assault or children.
3. Do not report with emotion- Inputting one’s own emotion within a story may result in false or inaccurate information that may potentially be harmful to parties involved.
4. Be an equal opportunity writer- By covering a variety of topics and reaching out to all parties involved, one can form the whole picture of the events conspired and will “provide justice for all involved in controversial issues and treat[ing] all sources equally” (Patterson & Wilkins, 2019).
5. Never alter a photo or video of an individual or group in a negative aspect- Any alteration to a photo or video can harm one’s reputation due to being taken out of context. It can prove information provided as incorrect and inaccurate, which overall lowers credibility of source.

Examples of libel cases:

1. Sabrina Rubin Erdely wrote a 9,000-word article titled, “A Rape on Campus” alleging that a student had been the victim of a gang rape at a fraternity and was even further victimized due to the university’s indifference, despite knowing the information was false (Moore, 2019).
2. National Inquirer alleged that comedian Carol Burnett had argued in a Washington, D.C. restaurant with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger which was later proved to be false (Moore, 2019).
3. Tatum v.s. Dallas Morning News, Inc.- John and Mary Ann Tatum sued Dallas Morning News, Inc. due to an article that referenced their son’s suicide. While they were not named, the article itself quoted from the obituary and the court deemed that it could be possible that people who were acquainted with the Tatums may believe the article is in referene to them “turning a blind eye to it [mental illness] and may have missed an opportunity to intervene and save his life” (Moore, 2019).
4. “Media law experts have insisted that bloggers be held accountable for the libelous content that they create. Experts also argue that fictional material must be clearly labeled as fiction” (Moore, 2019).