Holy shit, Yahoo! is lying like a dog.

randomly shoot innocent people down

I'm pretty sure that Yahoo! (and the author) has committed libel per se in writing that.

Slander Per Se (or Defamation per se) is the legal doctrine that there are certain statements which are so inherently defamatory and libelous, that damage to a plaintiff’s reputation will be presumed and they will not need to prove damages.

What Constitutes Slander Per Se?

4 types of statements:

Most States in the U.S. and their defamation laws outline four types of statements which would be considered Slander Per Se:

Crime: Statements charging the plaintiff with having committed a crime or a crime of moral turpitude

Yahoo has a lot of money, don't they?

Just as an aside, it also lists:

Loathsome Disease: Statements imputing the plaintiff suffers from a loathsome disease (typically, STDs & leprosy).

Which I have no further comment on.