The difference between libel and slander
<p>I've heard people use the terms libel and slander interchangeably, but I know that they are different in the eyes of the law. What are the defining characteristics of each?</p>

<p>From <a href="http://grammarist.com/usage/libel-slander/">http://grammarist.com/usage/libel-slander/</a>:</p>

<p>(emphasis mine)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Libel</strong> is the use of false, defamatory claims about someone in <strong>written or printed form</strong>. <strong>Slander</strong> likewise denotes false statements that damage a person’s reputation, but it is committed <strong>orally or in any other transient form</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>So a false claim satisfying the definition of defamation would be libel if written (including on the Internet, per <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varian_v._Delfino">Varian Medical Systems, Inc. v. Delfino</a>), and slander if made in a transient form.</p>

libel slander