- Under traditional law, written defamation was considered libel while spoken defamation was considered slander. Under modern laws the definition is not as clear, although typically defamation in a permanent form is classified as libel while defamation in spoken form is slander.
- Defamation involves exposing someone to hatred, contempt, ridicule or financial loss. It must directly affect the reputation of a living person and must be revealed to someone other than the subject of the attack. The defamed person must show that the statement was made against them and describe the elements that made the statement defamatory.
- Generally, true statements, statements made in good faith and reasonably believed true, opinions, fair comments on matters of public interest, statements made without knowledge of their defamatory character and statements that didn't cause injury are not considered defamatory. However, one can be vilified---possibly losing social stature or the respect of others---without the statements meeting the legal definition of defamation.
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