criminal libel
Prosecutable false statement
Criminal libel is defamation prosecuted as a crime rather than pursued as a civil lawsuit.
Unlike ordinary libel, where the victim sues for damages, criminal libel involves state prosecution and can result in fines or imprisonment.
Once common, it has largely fallen out of use in democracies, though some jurisdictions retain it for cases involving incitement or public disorder: The journalist faced criminal libel charges after publishing allegations against the prime minister.
- slanderSpoken false defamation
- spoken wordPoetry delivered aloud
- defamationFalse statements harming reputation
- false statementClaim not matching reality
- judgeOne who decides
publication · written word · penal code · charge · truthfulness · tort · broadcast · censorship · statute · legal defense · internet · chilling effect · verdict · penalty · privacy · prosecution · malice · reputation
criminal libelprotected speech
fair comment · privileged communication · free speech · honest opinion · press freedom
criminal libelcivil remedy
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