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
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On Thursday, the president’s lawyers refiled a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, alleging its reporters have knowingly and maliciously maligned his achievements.—Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025 Smartmatic filed defamation lawsuits in 2021 against these figures, and other right-wing media outlets, seeking billions of dollars in damages.—Marshall Cohen, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025 In response, Baldoni filed his own lawsuit accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, 48, of defamation and extortion.—Elizabeth Rosner, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025 Trump refiles $15 billion defamation lawsuit against New York Times.—FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for defamation
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