The act of writing or publishing false statements about someone that harm their reputation. As a verb, it means to make such damaging written statements.
From Old French *libelle* and Latin *libellus* meaning “little book or document,” a diminutive of *liber* (book). It originally meant a written statement or complaint before narrowing to harmful written accusations.
Libel shows how dangerous writing can be: once something false is on paper or online, it can spread and stick. The law treats written lies more seriously than spoken ones because they travel farther and last longer.
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