And the statement does not fall into a privileged category.
A statement can be made either orally (which is called slander) or written (which is called libel, often used interchangeably with the word defamation). In the old days — before "publishing" became as easy as pushing out a tweet — slander was not considered quite as serious as libel. Saying something potentially defamatory in a debate on the town hall steps just didn't reach as many ears or eyes as the written word.
"These days, there really is not much difference because almost all communication is really mass," says Greg Lisby, a licensed attorney in the state of Georgia and a professor of communication at Georgia State University in Atlanta.