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What does "LIBEL ACT" mean? Does "the state of things was even more in evidence means that the situation was worse than England or not?

Even at the present day the air is charged with prejudice. If any man of standing at the present instant were to enter a London newspaper office and say that he had detected a medium in fraud, the matter would be seized upon eagerly and broadcast over the country; while if the same man proclaimed that he had beyond all question satisfied himself that the phenomena were true, it is doubtful if he would get a paragraph. The scale is always heavily weighted. In America, where there is practically no Libel Act, and where the Press is often violent and sensational, this state of things was—and possibly is—even more in evidence.

The History of Spiritualism By A.C Doyle
XII: THE EDDY BROTHERS AND THE HOLMESES

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Libel is the publication of false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation. The Libel Act is the actual legislation enacted that outlines the legal positions. So, in the USA, where that was no Libel legislation, the press were free to publish negative articles and refute to a much greater extent without fear of prosecution.

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  • In Britain, laws are created by 'Acts of Parliament', and are informally referred to by a name, and often the year the legislation was passed by Parliament, eg the Theft Act 1985.
    – Michael Harvey
    Jun 19, 2020 at 13:11
  • There were and are libel laws in the USA. However, they make winning a case much more difficult because of the first amendment.
    – Mary
    Jun 23, 2020 at 23:23

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