False light

False light is a legal term that refers to a tort concerning privacy that is similar to the tort of defamation. The privacy laws in the United States include a non-public person's right to privacy from publicity which puts them in a false light to the public; which is balanced against the First Amendment right of free speech.

False light differs from defamation primarily in being intended "to protect the plaintiff's mental or emotional well-being" rather than protect a plaintiff's reputation as is the case with the tort of defamation and in being about the impression created rather than being about veracity. If a publication of information is false, then a tort of defamation might have occurred. If that communication is not technically false but is still misleading then a tort of false light might have occurred. Someone who is committing the crime of false light is also committing a logical fallacy known as half truths. So as well as possibly being illegal and immoral it is also logically wrong.

False Light

False Light or Vals licht is a 1993 Dutch film directed by Theo van Gogh.

Cast

External links