I am afraid that it can be libel to republish a libelous claim It can be damaging to Wellss reputation to call him a liar If WP editors republish the claim and assert that it accurately came from reliable sources then the WP editors could be committing libel No it is not up to Wells to deal with everyone who calls him a liar It is up to WP to use reliable sources and to not libel people This particular instance is bad because it suggests that WP editors have some inside knowledege that Wells is a liar as the article does not even reveal what the alleged lie is