Slander is a false and unprivileged publication, other than libel, which:
§ 1442.Slander Defined
Chapter 25: Slander and Libel · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceDefines slander as a false and unprivileged spoken statement, distinct from libel, that falls into one of five categories: charging a crime, imputing a contagious disease, harming someone's occupation, imputing impotence or unchastity, or otherwise causing actual damage.
Full Text of § 1442
1. Charges any person with crime, or with having been indicted, convicted or punished for crime.
2. Imputes in him the present existence of an infectious, contagious or loathsome disease.
3. Tends directly to injure him in respect to his office, profession, trade or business, either by imputing to him general disqualification in those respects which the office or other occupation peculiarly requires, or by imputing something with reference to his office, profession, trade or business that has a natural tendency to lessen its profit.
4. Imputes to him impotence or want of chastity; or,
5. Which, by natural consequences, causes actual damage.
Amendment History
R.L. 1910, § 4957
Plain-English Summary
Section 1442 lists the kinds of false, unprivileged statements that count as slander in Oklahoma. A statement slanders someone if it charges them with a crime (or with having been indicted, convicted, or punished for one), claims they have an infectious, contagious, or loathsome disease, or attacks their fitness for their office, profession, trade, or business.
The list also covers statements imputing impotence or a want of chastity. A fifth, catch-all category picks up any other false statement that, by its natural consequences, causes actual damage -- so a false statement doesn't have to fit one of the first four categories to qualify as slander, as long as it hurts the person it's about.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between libel and slander in Oklahoma?
Libel is a fixed, visual falsehood -- writing, print, a picture, an effigy. Slander, defined here, is any other false, unprivileged publication, which in practice means a spoken statement.
Does falsely accusing someone of a crime count as slander?
Yes. The statute lists charging a person with a crime, or with having been indicted, convicted, or punished for one, as its first category of slander.
What if the false statement claims someone has a disease?
Falsely imputing the present existence of an infectious, contagious, or loathsome disease is the statute's second listed category of slander.
Do I have to prove the statement hurt me to sue for slander?
Not necessarily under the first four categories, which describe specific kinds of harmful statements, but the fifth category covers any other false statement that, by natural consequence, causes actual damage.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
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