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Whereas publishing false statements can often be a civil wrong (e.g. libel/defamation), I am seeking examples of where it has been criminalised and codified.
Limitations:
Several countries have laws against Holocaust denial. Such laws typically punish people who seriously minimise the scale of Nazi crimes, or entirely deny that generally accepted Nazi atrocities took place. The Wikipedia page lists several examples.
In Austria, National Socialism Prohibition Law (1947, amendments of 1992) section 3h criminalizes "whoever denies, grossly plays down, approves or tries to excuse the National Socialist genocide or other National Socialist crimes against humanity in a print publication, in broadcast or other media."
Belgium also has a 1995 law against those who "grossly minimise, attempts to justify, or approves the genocide committed by the German National Socialist Regime during the Second World War", punishable by "a prison sentence of eight days to one year, and by a fine of twenty six francs to five thousand francs".
In Czechia it is forbidden not only to deny Nazi genocide and crimes against humanity, but also similar crimes by Communist regimes (presumably primarily aimed at the Communist rulers in Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and elsewhere in Eastern Europe). The Law Against Support and Dissemination of Movements Oppressing Human Rights and Freedoms (2001) § 405 says "Anyone who publicly denies, disputes, approves or attempts to justify a Nazi, Communist or other genocide or Nazi, Communist or other crimes against humanity or war crimes or crimes against peace will be punished by imprisonment for six months to three years".
To clarify the answer regarding the U.S.:
There is no Federal level statute for criminal defamation in the U.S. However, there are statutory laws in the U.S. that criminalize defamation in 23 states, a case law in Iowa, and a constitutional grant for criminal defamation in South Dakota (25 states with a law in some form). That said, most states restrict criminal defimation very narrowly.
In addition, it's a very rare crime to see prosecuted, let alone successfully. Between 1992 and 2004, only 41 charges were made, of which only 6 resulted in a conviction. Between 1965 and 2004 (39 years), there were only 16 successful convictions. Almost all sentences for convictions seem to indicate that the crime is a misdemeanor, with jail time averaging 173 days for those that serve jail time at all (misdemeanors in most states are 12 months for a single offence at the maximum) with fines, probation, and community service among the sentences for the charge.
In the UK, the Communications Act 2003 makes it illegal to lie over the internet in order to annoy someone.
(2) A person is guilty of an offence if, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another, he—
(a) sends by means of a public electronic communications network, a message that he knows to be false,
But in this case the intent to annoy is a necessary element along with the known falsehood. It's not generally illegal to lie simply to mislead people.
A few years ago New Zealand lawmakers overhauled the law of contempt of court. On the one hand, they abolished a whole lot of common law contempt offences (s 3(3)(a)):
(i) contempt in the face of the court; and
(ii) publishing information that interferes with a fair trial; and
(iii) jurors researching information relevant to the trial; and
(iv) disclosing juror deliberations; and
(v) disobeying court orders; and
(vi) scandalising the court
On the other hand, they introduced a new criminal offence of publishing false statements about judges (s 22):
(1) A person commits an offence if—
(a) the person publishes a false statement about a Judge or court; and
(b) the person knew or ought reasonably to have known that the statement could undermine public confidence in the independence, integrity, impartiality, or authority of the judiciary or a court; and
(c) there is a real risk that the statement could undermine public confidence in the independence, integrity, impartiality, or authority of the judiciary or a court.
Until 2021, Canada's Criminal Code contained s. 181, which made it an offence to spread false news.
Every one who wilfully publishes a statement, tale or news that he knows is false and that causes or is likely to cause injury or mischief to a public interest is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
It was ruled unconstitutional in 1992 (R. v. Zundel, [1992] 2 SCR 731), but that did not remove it from the statute books. It was removed in 2021 in a clean-up bill along with many other "zombie" laws. See this explainer about the Bill.
In Finland, the crime of defamation is covered by the Criminal law. Rikoslaki, chapter 24, §9 and §10 (Translation mine)
§9 Defamation
Whoever
- Presents or insinuates false information of another, in a manner likely to cause damage or suffering to the injured party, or disdain towards them, or
- In a manner other than part 1 defames another
Is to be sentenced to a fine for defamation.
[...]
§10 Aggravated Defamation
If defamation as per part 1 of §9 causes great suffering or injury, and the crime is also otherwise aggravated, the criminal must be sentenced to a fine or no more than two years of imprisonment for aggravated defamation.
In fact, §8 criminalizes publishing true statements regarding a person's private life. I have read news stories that mention that the police has an ongoing investigation for defamation or violation of privacy.
