Since the rise of the internet, further constituents of defamation law have been added into place in regards to online communication. Not unlike offline defamation, there are elements of the situation that constitute it worthy of a case – the accusations must be (1.) a false statement of fact and (2.) must damage one’s reputation.

There are two subcategories of defamation – libel and slander. Traditionally, libel is written defamation and slander is spoken. In the same way, internet libel occurs when statements are written (readable content), and internet slander occurs when statements are spoken (a video, audio, or podcast).