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Comment by greenmanhatten | Hacker News Reader

I really would do that but right now giving benefit of doubt ... but want to know my options

Talk to a lawyer before disclosing that sort of information! You don't want to be hit with slander charges.

Slander is oral speech; libel is the one you're looking for. My understanding is that a statement has to be false in order to be libel, but I wouldn't advise the poster to take legal advice from a rando on HN like me.

Which I always use [this scene][1] from Spider-Man to remember:

  Peter Parker: Spider-Man wasn't trying to attack the city, he was trying to
                save it. That's slander. 
  J. Jonah Jameson: It is not! I resent that! Slander is spoken. In print,
                    it's libel.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcM1kTZm-nM

Etymology is your friend here: Libel has roots in the latin for "document". Think of "library".

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