／old fang

Libel in fiction By David L. Hudson Jr. First Amendment Center research attorney We all know instinctively what libel or defamation is — making false statements of fact that harm another's reputation. For example, if I falsely write that John Smith committed a crime, then I have libeled him. I have harmed his reputation by accusing him of doing something bad that he didn't do. However, what if I write a fictional story from my own experiences about a student who feels harassed by an overbeari