---
title: O.C.G.A. § 51-5-2. Newspaper libel defined; publication prerequisite to recovery.
collection: code
id: 51-5-2
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 51-5-2 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/51-5-2
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/51-5-2.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/51-5-2/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t51-(v39)-2017-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=6b891965_0#page=542
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: TORTS / LIBEL AND SLANDER
---

# O.C.G.A. § 51-5-2. Newspaper libel defined; publication prerequisite to recovery.

(a) Any false and malicious defamation of another in any newspaper, magazine, or periodical, tending to injure the reputation of the person and expose him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule, shall constitute a newspaper libel.

(b) The publication of the libelous matter is essential to recovery.

## History

Ga. L. 1893, p. 131, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 3835; Civil Code 1910, § 4431; Code 1933, § 105-703.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘The Supreme Court on Privacy and the Press,’’ see 12 Ga. L. Rev. 215 (1978). For annual survey of tort law, see 58 Mercer L. Rev. 385 (2006). For annual survey on law of torts, see 61 Mercer L. Rev. 335 (2009). For annual survey of law on torts, see 62 Mercer L. Rev. 317 (2010).