actual malice

English

Noun

actual malice (uncountable)

1. (law) In United States defamation law, the level of knowledge that must be demonstrated for a public figure to prevail as a plaintiff in a lawsuit for defamation; the defendant must have either known that information published about the plaintiff was false, or must have shown reckless disregard for the truth by not a making simple inquiry or investigation which would have disclosed it.