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Neutral reportage is a common law defense against libel and defamation lawsuits usually involving the media republishing unproven accusations about public figures.^[1] It is a limited exception to the common law rule that one who repeats a defamatory statement is just as guilty as the first person who published it.^[2]

Defendants using the defense can claim that they are not implying the offending statement is true but simply reporting, in a neutral manner, that the potentially libelous statements were made, even if they doubt the accuracy of the statement. For the defense to succeed, it is almost always required for the reporting to be unbiased and in the public interest.^[3]

^ Creech, Kenneth C. (2007). Electronic media law and regulation. Elsevier. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-240-80841-3.
^ McCraw, David (1991). "The right to republish libel: Neutral reportage and the reasonable reader". Akron Law Review. 25: 335. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
^ Bowles, Dorothy A. (March 1989). "Neutral Reportage as a Defence Against Republishing Libel". Communications and the Law. 11 (March 1989): 3–17. Retrieved 2008-08-08.