Defamation is best described as?

• A. An invasion of privacy.
• B. A form of copyright violation.
• C. A communication that harms the reputation of another as to lower them in the estimation of the community or deterring third persons from associating/dealing with them.
• D. An insult without any factual basis.

Answer: (C)

Defamation involves communicating a false statement of fact about someone to a third party that harms that person’s reputation. The description you’re looking for sticks because it emphasizes both the publication to others and the resulting damage to how the person is viewed in the community—or in their ability to be trusted or to do business with others. It isn’t just an insult or a privacy issue, and it isn’t about copyright. An insult may be offensive, but defamation requires a false factual claim that harms reputation, while truth and protected opinions generally aren’t defamatory.