What is “publication” as it relates to defamation, and how does publication take place if the defamation is shared by the spoken word (known as “slander“)? Publication in defamation cases occurs the moment that the speaker’s false statement is communicated to a third party – someone other than the subject of the defamation.
When does publication happen? To be “published,” a defamatory statement need not occur in written form (known as “libel”).If a defamatory statement is made about a person or company, the defamation is “published” the moment the words are spoken by a person and heard by someone other than the target of the defamatory statement.