Tortious damage to a reputation. When the defamation is specifically written use "libel"; use "slander" when it is specifically spoken.
Canonical answers:
Questions tagged [defamation]
220 questions
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What makes politicians "fair game"?
People say and write things about politicians they would never dream of saying about celebrities or corporate tycoons. They accuse them of lying, corruption, and racism and create political cartoons featuring derogatory caricatures. If I'm not…
Paredon
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Can hypothesis-publishing make one liable for defamation?
It is understandable that if Bob says "Rob murdered Alice", Bob will be liable for defamation unless he can prove that Rob indeed murdered Alice on the preponderance of evidence (this is true even if Rob has been acquitted of murdering Alice —…
Greendrake
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In a defamation case, can the defendant not prove statement to be true and still win the case?
A male celebrity has said to a tabloid newspaper he slept with a female celebrity when they worked in a production few years ago. The female celeb is now suing him for defamation as she says that this is false; she never slept with him.
If the male…
Ryanjones97
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Is posting the wrong photo of a criminal suspect actionable defamation?
Sometimes police or others will post an incorrect photo (or name) of a person and mistakenly identify them as a criminal suspect. For example, ATM video cameras do not sync transactions with the video, so it is easy for banks to get the wrong…
Cicero
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Cheapest way to get a court order for Amazon
My company is being severely defamed by a post on a website hosted by Amazon's cloud hosting service (AWS). Amazon declines to remove the website/post without a court order. The site's owner (anonymous) simply doesn't answer any of my requests. What…
chris
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Can someone win a defamation suit based off some voice recordings?
This guy I was seeing, we'll call him A, is now accusing me of defamation of character. He and I ended our sexual relationship approximately 3 months ago. He was someone who had a girlfriend, and slept with multiple women on the side without his…
user477465
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Can a true statement be defamatory?
Can a true statement be "defamatory"? I know that truth is a defence to a defamation action, in that no liability will generally result if what you have communicated is true, but is it incoherent or an oxymoron to speak of a defamatory yet true…
Jen
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When multiple people are included in the same defamation lawsuit, do they get sued separately or all together?
Let's say two employees for a toy company talk about a company's product being dangerously unsafe (regardless if was true or not) on a news channel. The same toy company goes on later on to file a defamation lawsuit and the following happens:
The…
WrapItUp87
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Legal Term for Legal Issues in Media Other Than IP
The first legal arena most writers learn about is probably copyright, or intellectual property (IP). However, there are many other issues to be aware of, including defamation, immorality, the right to privacy, and publicity rights.
Is there a…
Paredon
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Is there a viable cause of action for exposing someone of academic misconduct?
Is there a viable cause of action for exposing someone's academic misconduct from a country different than the one the exposed person lives and works.
For instance if you live in a European country, the exposed person also lives in a different…
Petey
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defaming an anonymous person
Suppose there is someone only known by an avatar. Suppose no public information is available as to who is the real person behind the avatar.
My question is whether there is any case-law about whether the unknown real person can be defamed by writing…
Brendan McKay
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Could a phrase "Don't buy from X" with indirectly implied material be considered defamatory?
Company A is doing an aggressive marketing strategy to undermine competition by saying they are better due to such and such factors.
Below such a remark they said, "Don't buy from Company X"
Company A obviously was smart enough not to make any false…
user1034912
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How do I warn people about a scammer/swindler who has not yet been indicted wihout being defamatory?
I live in Australia. There is this person who cheats people all the time through devious schemes and convincing talks. I myself lost a few thousands of dollars from him. Two of my friends lost $50,000 and $30,000 respectively. He has yet to be…
user1034912
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Can a statement of one's beliefs constitute defamation if those beliefs can't be proven true?
I believe that a group of businesses is engaging in anti-competitive behavior and that they are acting in a coordinated effort to maintain artificially-inflated prices and are publishing dishonest advertising through third parties to bring customers…
user18924
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Can a statement be defamatory if it is damaging "out of context?"
Suppose someone said that I was "telling lies" at the bridge table. The reasons are that 1) he is a better player and 2) my bids at the bridge table don't quite agree with what I have in my hand. That is not intentional, but I do make mistakes of…
Libra
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