New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
376 U.S. 254 · U.S. Supreme Court
Holding and boundaries
Public officials seeking defamation damages must prove actual malice regarding falsity.
Scope and limitations: Does not protect knowing or reckless falsehoods and applies differently to private figures and other claims.
5 issue placements
Information Integrity
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan supports or supplies a protective rule relevant to Information Integrity. Fit tier: Strong analogue. The placement must be used only within the holding and limitations recorded here.
Scope and limitations: Does not protect knowing or reckless falsehoods and applies differently to private figures and other claims.
Verification-state description: authoritative_text_identified; pinpoint_and_currentness_review_required
Local Journalism & Civic Information Infrastructure
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan supports or supplies a protective rule relevant to Local Journalism & Civic Information Infrastructure. Fit tier: Strong analogue. The placement must be used only within the holding and limitations recorded here.
Scope and limitations: Does not protect knowing or reckless falsehoods and applies differently to private figures and other claims.
Verification-state description: authoritative_text_identified; pinpoint_and_currentness_review_required
Media Representation
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan supports or supplies a protective rule relevant to Media Representation. Fit tier: Contextual. The placement must be used only within the holding and limitations recorded here.
Scope and limitations: Does not protect knowing or reckless falsehoods and applies differently to private figures and other claims.
Verification-state description: authoritative_text_identified; pinpoint_and_currentness_review_required
Public-Figure & Private-Civilian Boundaries
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan rejects, narrows, limits, or supplies adverse authority relevant to Public-Figure & Private-Civilian Boundaries. Fit tier: Direct. The placement must be used only within the holding and limitations recorded here.
Scope and limitations: Does not protect knowing or reckless falsehoods and applies differently to private figures and other claims.
Verification-state description: authoritative_text_identified; pinpoint_and_currentness_review_required
Public-Figure Civic Safety
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan rejects, narrows, limits, or supplies adverse authority relevant to Public-Figure Civic Safety. Fit tier: Direct. The placement must be used only within the holding and limitations recorded here.
Scope and limitations: Does not protect knowing or reckless falsehoods and applies differently to private figures and other claims.
Verification-state description: authoritative_text_identified; pinpoint_and_currentness_review_required
Publication and provenance
The authority is published once; issue-specific orientation and fit remain separate placements. Analogue, contextual, and historical-adverse fits are not represented as controlling.
Published under research-publication-clearance-2026-07-21. deterministic validation and objective verification are not claimed.