When a plaintiff sues a defendant who only repeated someone else’s libel or slander, the defendant may inaptly claim there is no liability. Such a defense, however, is not available to a re-publishing defendant.
Repetition of the defamation is a separate publication and hence a new and separate cause of action – even if the repeater names the source.
The law is clear. When one person repeats another’s defamatory statement, she or he may be held liable for that re-publication of libel or slander and ordered to pay money damages. One appellate court ruled, “A false statement is not less libelous because it is the repetition of rumor or gossip or of statements or allegations that other have made…” about the plaintiff.