---
title: "Assemble the facts for a correction demand"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/draft-a-pre-action-concerns-or-retraction-notice/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A33-T1-R2-US"
practice_area: "Defamation & Media Law"
tier: "red"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Assemble the facts for a correction demand

> List the publication or broadcast, the date the client reports learning of it, the passage, and the publisher or station named on the piece, with the page or the capture. Write no sentence of a notice or a demand.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/draft-a-pre-action-concerns-or-retraction-notice/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Defamation & Media Law](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law.md) |
| Human involvement | Red: Lawyer writes; AI may check, clarify or collect data |
| How AI is used | List the publication or broadcast, the date the client reports learning of it, the passage, and the publisher or station named on the piece, with the page or the capture. Write no sentence of a notice or a demand. |
| What the lawyer must review | Civil Code § 48a(a) requires the plaintiff to serve on the publisher, at the place of publication, or the broadcaster, at the place of broadcast, a written notice specifying the statements claimed to be libelous and demanding that those statements be corrected. The notice and demand must be served within 20 days after knowledge of the publication or broadcast. You write and serve that notice. Section 48a(d)(4) defines actual malice, for exemplary damages under this section, as a state of mind arising from hatred or ill will, and a good-faith belief in the truth of the publication or broadcast is not actual malice under that definition. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), states the constitutional fault standard in a public-official case. Use the constitutional standard where it governs. The two definitions are stated in different sources and you apply each where it applies. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Draft a pre-action concerns or retraction notice](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/draft-a-pre-action-concerns-or-retraction-notice.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: List the publication or broadcast, the date the client reports learning of it, the passage, and the publisher or station named on the piece, with the page or the capture. Write no sentence of a notice or a demand.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- The 20 days run from knowledge of the publication or broadcast. Confirm that date with the client before anyone counts it.
- Section 48a(d)(5) limits a daily or weekly news publication to a print or electronic publication with news on matters of public concern that publishes at least once a week.
- A correction demand is a document you send. The fact list stays in the file.

## Sources

- [California Civil Code § 48a (correction in a news publication or a radio broadcast)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=48a.) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/376/254) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [California Civil Code § 45 (libel defined)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=45) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Retraction and correction demand](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/us-retraction-demand.md) | Letter | Yellow | A demand that a publisher or broadcaster correct specified statements. California Civil Code section 48a is included only as one state's statute, and only where that section applies. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*