What is slander?

Slander is spoken defamation, meaning false oral statements that harm another person's reputation when communicated to a third party. The category traces to English common law, which distinguished slander from libel by the form of communication: slander was spoken and was historically considered less serious than libel because spoken words tend to be transient and reach a smaller audience. American courts inherited this distinction during the colonial period, and most state defamation statutes still preserve the libel-slander divide.

To prove slander, a plaintiff typically must show a false statement of fact, oral communication to a third party, fault by the speaker, and damages. Special damages, meaning specific economic losses such as lost employment or business, are usually required for ordinary slander, although certain categories called slander per se allow recovery without proof of special damages. Slander per se traditionally includes statements falsely accusing the plaintiff of a serious crime, alleging that the plaintiff has a loathsome disease, attacking the plaintiff's professional fitness, or imputing unchastity, although the unchastity category has been criticized as outdated and many states have modernized their lists.

The constitutional standards from New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) and Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974) apply to slander as well as libel. Public officials and public figures must prove actual malice, meaning knowledge that the statement was false or reckless disregard for the truth. Private figures suing over matters of public concern must show at least negligence.

Defenses include truth, opinion, fair comment, the absolute privilege for statements made in judicial and legislative proceedings under Briscoe v. LaHue (1983) and Tenney v. Brandhove (1951), and qualified privileges for statements between parties with a shared interest such as employer references and credit reports. Examples of slander include falsely accusing a coworker of stealing, falsely telling neighbors that a person committed a crime, or falsely telling a customer that a competing business cheats.

Modern technology has blurred the line between slander and libel: a podcast that records spoken words, a video posted online with audio, or a voice message saved by the recipient may straddle both categories, although most courts treat digitally fixed audio recordings as libel because of the durability and reach. Damages in slander cases generally focus on actual harm, although punitive damages may be available where actual malice is proved. Naturalization candidates should know slander as the spoken counterpart to libel within the broader category of defamation.