Substantial truth is a legal doctrine affecting

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

and slander laws in

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

jurisdictions such as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

or the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

United States law

Under the United States law, a statement cannot be held to be actionable as slanderous or libellous if the statement is true but has "slight inaccuracies of expression". That is not enough to make the alleged libel false.

Other usage

This doctrine is applied in matters in which truth is used as an absolute defence to a defamation claim brought against a public figure, but only false statements made with "

actual malice Actual malice in United States law is a legal requirement imposed upon public officials or public figures when they file suit for libel (defamatory printed communications). Compared to other individuals who are less well known to the general pu ...

" are subject to sanctions. A defendant using truth as a defence in a defamation case is not required to justify every word of the alleged defamatory statements. It is sufficient to prove that "the substance, the gist, the sting, of the matter is true."
Gomba v. McLaughlin
', 180 Colo. 232, 236, 504 P.2d 337, 339 (1972)

References

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Julie Hilden Julie Cope Hilden (April 19, 1968 - March 17, 2018) was an American novelist and lawyer. Biography Hilden grew up in Hawaii and New Jersey. She graduated with a B.A. in philosophy from Harvard College, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and an M. ...

Defamation Legal doctrines and principles Legal reasoning Truth {{law-term-stub