Single Publication Rule
The single publication rule treats an entire print run, broadcast, or online posting of a defamatory statement as one publication for statute-of-limitations purposes, rather than a new claim for every copy or view.
Without this rule, every sale of a newspaper or every page view of an online article could theoretically restart the limitations clock indefinitely. The rule instead runs the limitations period from the first general distribution or posting of the material.
Courts have extended the rule to online content, generally holding that merely continuing to host an existing webpage doesn't restart the clock. Substantive edits or a genuine republication of the content to a new audience can trigger a fresh limitations period under the related republication doctrine.
In the simulation, this shows up as a statute-of-limitations anchor date computed from a single trigger-event dial rather than from ongoing accessibility. A user can see how the case's viability changes if the trigger date is contested as the initial-publication date versus a later substantive-edit date.
How it actually shows up
Defense counsel moves to dismiss an online defamation claim as time-barred, arguing the limitations period ran from the article's original posting date rather than from when the plaintiff discovered it years later.
- Does every reader who views an old article restart the limitations clock?
- No, under the single publication rule the clock generally runs from the original publication date.
- Does editing an article restart the clock?
- It can, if the edit amounts to a substantive republication, though minor corrections generally do not.
- Does the rule apply to social media posts?
- Most courts apply the same first-publication logic to social media and other online content.
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