Hypothetical situation. Let’s say there’s a town hall-style meeting with candidates for an election where the public were allowed to ask questions. If someone asked one of the candidates “Is it true that the rumors of you being a pedophile are unfounded?” Could that be considered slander?
I don’t have a direct answer, but the tort of false light seems relevant here:
It mentions these elements, which largely apply to your hypothetical:
- A publication by the defendant about the plaintiff;
- made with actual malice (very similar to that type required by New York Times v. Sullivan in “Defamation” cases);
- which places the Plaintiff in a false light;
- and that would be highly offensive (i.e., embarrassing to reasonable persons).[2]
Would verbally asking someone a question be considered a “publication”?
That’s good information. Would a politician be considered a “non-public” person?
I am assuming in the context of the question that there really are no rumors about the candidate and pedophilia, just that the questioner is falsely stating that there are such rumors to make the public think that there is a possibility of the candidate being a pedophile.
So, yes, I think almost certainly it is slander and malicious at that if the facts are as I have assumed.
Yes, your assumptions are correct. But what constitutes a valid rumor? If a guy next to me at the bar says, “I heard so-and-so was a pedophile,” does that constitute a rumor? How could that be proven?
Witnesses. Recordings. The same way you would prove that the guy hit you or committed other crimes, legal or civil.