Sometimes people in conflicts with others become the subjects of injurious lies. The relevant area of law is called "defamation of character,” generally defined to include “libel” and “slander.” Generally speaking, defamation is the issuance of a false statement about another person, which causes that person harm. Slander involves the making of defamatory statements by a transitory (non-fixed) representation, usually an oral (spoken) one. Libel involves the making of defamatory statements in a printed or fixed medium, such as a magazine or newspaper. In the context of defamation law, a statement is "published" when it is made to a third party. That does not mean that the statement has to be in print; defamation spoken on the radio or television would be categorized as libel.
