What was the Supreme Court’s ruling in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan?

In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court ruled that a public official suing over a false statement about official conduct must prove “actual malice”: that the publisher knew the statement was false or recklessly disregarded whether it was true. This protects some false speech from liability when it was not knowingly or recklessly published, making D the best answer. The ruling does not say false speech is always harmless or never protected.

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