Also known as: public figure · public-figure · public official
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A category of individuals who have achieved pervasive fame or have voluntarily injected themselves into a particular public controversy. Such persons must prove actual malice to recover damages in defamation actions concerning their public conduct or role.
Premier Manufacturing's general counsel contributed $50,000 to the reelection campaign of a sitting judge who is a well-known public figure. The firm then submitted a proposal for a lucrative government contract that the judge's agency would award. When the contribution's timing and amount surfaced in a later ethics inquiry, the firm faced discipline because the payment was made to secure the engagement rather than as ordinary political participation.
Pulse Media published a profile of Pearl Porter, a nationally recognized business leader and public figure, that deliberately changed her quoted remarks about a corporate merger. The alterations reversed the meaning of her statements on regulatory compliance. Porter sued for defamation and prevailed after showing the changes were material and made with knowledge of falsity.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A newspaper ran a story accusing Philip Powell, a prominent state legislator and public figure, of steering contracts to a family business. The reporter relied on an unverified tip and ignored readily available public records that contradicted the claim. Powell recovered damages because the publication was made with reckless disregard for truth.
A gossip blog published false claims that Paige Porter, a celebrity athlete and public figure, had defaulted on a personal loan unrelated to her sports career. Because the statement concerned a purely private transaction, Porter recovered under a negligence standard rather than actual malice.
Piper Patel, an ordinary citizen, sued a local paper for a false story linking her to a public controversy. The court permitted recovery on a showing of negligence because Patel had not thrust herself into the public eye and therefore was not a public figure.
A newspaper accused a state attorney general, a well-known public figure, of misusing office resources in a nuisance abatement suit. The attorney general recovered damages after proving the story was published with actual malice because the report concerned his official conduct.
A public figure must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant published a false and defamatory statement with actual malice, meaning knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.
Private plaintiffs may recover under a negligence standard for statements about purely private matters, while public figures must always meet the actual malice standard for statements concerning their public conduct or role.
Yes, when the alteration results in a material change in the meaning conveyed by the statement, the change can constitute knowledge of falsity sufficient to prove actual malice.
Persons who occupy positions of persuasive power and influence or who have thrust themselves to the forefront of particular public controversies to influence their resolution qualify as public figures.
…which the constitutional protections for speech and press limit a State's power to award damages in a libel action brought by a public official against critics of his official conduct. Respondent L. B. Sullivan is one of the three elected Commissioners of the City of Montgomery, Alabama. He testified that he was "Commissioner of…