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In the English-speaking world, the law of defamation traditionally distinguishes between libel (written, printed, posted online, published in mass media) and slander (oral speech). It is treated as a civil wrong ( tort , delict ), as a criminal offence , or both.
United States defamation law. The origins of the United States ' defamation laws pre-date the American Revolution; one influential case in 1734 involved John Peter Zenger and established precedent that "The Truth" is an absolute defense against charges of libel. Though the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was designed to protect freedom ...
In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage). The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens. Most legal cases of the time were brought by private litigants as there was no police force and only a limited number ...
By contrast, hotzaat shem ra ("spreading a bad name") – also called hotzaat diba or motzi shem ra (lit. "putting out a bad name") – consists of lies, and is best translated as "slander" or "defamation" (calumny). Hotzaat shem ra is an even graver sin than lashon hara. [5] The act of gossiping is called rechilut, and is also forbidden by ...
The acronym was coined in the 1980s by University of Denver professors Penelope Canan and George W. Pring. [10] The term was originally defined as "a lawsuit involving communications made to influence a governmental action or outcome, which resulted in a civil complaint or counterclaim filed against nongovernment individuals or organizations on a substantive issue of some public interest or ...
Freedom of speech, also called free speech, means the free and public expression of opinions without censorship, interference and restraint by the government [1][2][3][4] The term "freedom of speech" embedded in the First Amendment encompasses the decision what to say as well as what not to say. [5] The Supreme Court of the United States has ...
In the United States, the traditional privilege (inherited from British common law) of "fair comment" is seen as a protection for robust, even outrageous published or spoken opinions about public officials and public figures. Fair comment is defined as a "common law defense [that] guarantees the freedom of the press to express statements on ...
Libel and slander laws fall under this category. Third, negligently false statements of fact may lead to civil liability in some instances. [21] Lastly, some implicit statements of fact—those that have a "false factual connotation"—can also fall under this exception. [22] [23] There is also a fifth category of analysis.