Defamation is a factually false statement about a person or company that is “unprivileged” (which legally means not protected by free speech rules from a claim for defamation). To be defamatory, the statement(s) must damage their target’s character, profession, or standing in the community. You cannot state that someone has done something illegal, or attack their chastity or conduct, if the claim is untrue. Sometimes it’s difficult to prove the effects of a defamatory statement, and there are several defenses to a claim for defamation. Truth, for example, is a solid defense. If you say anything true about someone, it is not defamatory even if it hurts their reputation. Opinion is also protected speech – if it is actually opinion. Usually, to rise to the level of defamation the statement must be leveled as a “factual” representation. Defamation must also be “published”. If two people have a private conversation and one says something the other perceives as defamatory, but no one else hears it, there is no “audience”. While defamation is far too complex to summarize in a paragraph, the above are some of its key elements.