False Light And Defamation

Summary

A statement can be both false light and defamatory, addressing different harms. In New Jersey, statements made to police officers and recorded on body cameras or included in police reports are considered published. False light involves misleading information causing distress, while defamation involves false statements harming reputation.

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If a defamatory statement and/or a false light statement is made to a police officer while being video recorded on publicly accessible police body-worn camera and/or written on a police report, is that considered publishing?
In New Jersey, a statement is generally considered "published" if it is communicated to a third party. Therefore, if a defamatory statement or false light statement is made to a police officer and is recorded on a publicly accessible body-worn camera or included in a police report, it can be considered as being published.