Defamation

Defamation is that which tends to injure a person's reputation. Compare with libel and slander.

Most common law jurisdictions recognize that some statements constitute defamation per se, which means that no proof is needed to show that the statement was intended to be defamatory, but it still must be proven that the statement was false. There are four general categories of statements which are considered defamatory per se:

• Allegations that someone has committed a criminal act ("Jim molested his daughter")
• Allegations that someone has a "foul or loathsome" disease ("Jim has HIV")
• Allegations that adversely reflect on one's fitness to conduct a business or profession ("Jim, CPA, lacks a valid license")
• Allegations that impute sexual misconduct ("Jim cheated on his wife with a female client")

See also

• Perjury
• "Catholic Heresies and Traditions Adopted and Perpetuated by the Roman Catholic Church in the Course of 1600 Years"