The article is here; summary:
Until the end of the 18th century, libel was often regarded as an actionable mistake, even if the slanderer’s claims were undeniably true (indeed, sometimes especially when true, as the slogan reflects “The greater the truth, the greater the libel”). big”). Over the next few centuries, however, truth became a complete defense to libel suits. Even outside the law, falsehood has become such an essential element of the common understanding of “libel” that today most English dictionaries and much extra-legal discussion of libel treat it as necessarily untrue.
Here, I question the new understanding of libel flying under the wings of the law as being too narrow. Accurate defamation is a serious mistake, and current understandings—particularly of tort—harmfully obscure this fact. Furthermore, for the reasons I have set out, privacy law does not provide an adequate remedy for this.
