Definitions

Defamation Any intentional false communication, either written or

spoken, that harms a person's reputation; decreases the respect, regard, or confidence in which a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile, or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person.

Defamation may be a criminal or civil charge. It encompasses both written statements, known as libel, and spoken statements, called slander.

Libel Defamation by written or printed words, pictures, or

in any form other than by spoken words or gestures.

The act or crime of publishing it.

A formal written declaration or statement, as one containing the allegations of a plaintiff or the grounds of a charge.

anything that is defamatory or that maliciously or damagingly misrepresents.

Slander

Oral defamation; in which someone tells one or more persons an untruth about another which untruth will harm the reputation of the person defamed.

Slander is a civil wrong (tort) and can be the basis for a lawsuit. Damages (payoff for worth) for slander may be limited to actual (special) damages unless there is malicious intent, since such damages are usually difficult to specify and harder to prove.