Yesterday, my students in Comparative Law and in Torts got to be test-screen audiences for American Libel, a new documentary written and produced by my friend and colleague Dan Greenberg (TST), a senior research fellow at the Cato Institute.
American Libel challenges the policy wisdom of the "actual malice" rule in U.S. First Amendment law. The rule requires, in key part, that public-figure and public-official defamation plaintiffs prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant wrote with actual knowledge of falsity or in reckless disregard of the truth. The rule originated in the landmark case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (U.S. 1964), and subsequently was rejected by other liberal-democratic jurisdictions, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, as insufficiently protective of personal reputation. The film assigns blame in part to Sullivan for our present misinformation epidemic and the collapse of public confidence in journalism.
Greenberg garnered student feedback and led fruitful discussions with students after two showings, morning and night. I am grateful to Greenberg for taking the time to visit us in Dartmouth, Mass., and share his work. And I am grateful for my students who devoted three hours to screening and discussion, asked informed questions, and offered full-hearted and thoughtful critique.
The screenings were a tremendous learning experience for all of us. It's fair to say that everyone looks forward to American Libel reaching general audiences.
You can read more about American Libel at the film's website. My students prepared by reading my "Reconsidering Sullivan" in 2 Tortz (2025 ed.) (free download at SSRN), pp. 516-535. Comparative Law students also read excerpts on Australian and Canadian law from Marie-France Major, Comparative Analogies: Sullivan Visits the Commonwealth, 10 Ind. Int'l & Comp. L. 17 (1999), and Jessica Lovell for INFORRM (2019) on the UK "public interest" defense.
