What is Libel and Slander?

When someone says or writes something false that that attacks the reputation of your person or your company, it is known as defamation. Not only can this hurt your reputation, but it can hurt friendships, sponsorships, and job prospects. And if you’re an owner of a business, defamation directed at you or your company can damage your customer and client base, leading to lost revenue or even bankruptcy, especially if you get tied up in legal battles.

The Written Word

Libel is defamation in written form. The form could be a newspaper article, a Facebook update, an open letter, a blog post, or any other medium or method that is read. For it to be defamation, this written media must have been seen by multiple people or be available to the public. An email written directly to you that attacks your character is not defamatory because it does not affect your reputation: you and the writer were the only ones to see it and therefore it did not affect your public character.

The Spoken Word

Slander is defamation in the spoken form. This could be a speech, radio, television, or any other medium where it is a spoken attack on your character. Slander can be recorded or live, but follows the same rules as libel: it must have been heard by multiple people either at the location where the person or organization spoke, or have been distributed to the public by the media or other means. A phone call from the person to you where attacks are made against your character is not defamation.

Defending Against Defamation

When you do have a case where libel or slander has been committed against you, you have to decide a response. You can query the source and ask them to withdraw the statement. If they will not, you can start legal action against them. To win such an action you must prove that:

• That the defendant’s statement was false.
• That the defendant’s statement damaged you in some manner.
• That the defendant’s statement was communicated to a third party.
• That the information communicated was not privileged, such as between a lawyer and client.

Protecting Your Company

There is no sure way to protect against libel or slander. Actions that help keep customer trust during any such attacks, such as a policy of transparency and community involvement, will foster trust in your denial of such attacks. Most defamations will still hurt your bottom line, so to help compensate for customer losses and the time and money of a legal battle, getting libel and slander insurance, often called defamation insurance or rolled into liability insurance, can be the key to offsetting these losses.

If you have any more questions about the legal definitions we’ve talked about, or about insuring your business against defamation or any other liabilities, please contact us today. H&K Insurance is committed to providing you protection for your auto, home, self, and business and will help you pick the insurance that’s right for you.