Harming someone's reputation in speech with falsehoods is known as slander, and doing the same thing in writing is known as libel (which sometimes includes speech as well). Any ordinary citizen who can claim to have suffered harm as a result of such defamation may sue. So why aren't politicians suing all the time? Because an exception is made for "public persons" (a category that includes most other celebrities as well), who must also prove that any such statement was made with "reckless disregard for the truth". And although, even by that standard, public persons are defamed all the time, most of them have decided that it's better to just grin and bear it.
The article was full of lies and defamations.
accused the newspaper columnist of defamation of character
Recent Examples on the WebJones and Free Speech Systems both filed for bankruptcy reorganization after the Sandy Hook families won lawsuits in Texas and Connecticut claiming defamation and emotional distress over Jones' hoax claims.—CBS News, 3 June 2024 Andrews’ lawsuit was brought with the help of the nonprofit group Protect Democracy, which also worked on defamation litigation brought by Georgia election workers against the former New York Mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani.—Tom Dreisbach, NPR, 31 May 2024 Taking Political Lies to Court: A small but growing cadre of lawyers is deploying defamation, the legal concept of false information, against a tide of political disinformation in the Trump era.—Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 29 May 2024 Today, May 22, our company has formally submitted a letter of complaint against Hee Jin Min for obstruction of business and defamation.—Jeff Benjamin, Billboard, 22 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for defamation
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defamation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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