We all know that there’s abundant pleasure in being a writer. Seeing our words in print and knowing they’re teaching or entertaining others brings boundless satisfaction. But being a writer also has enormous responsibility. Our words carry large impact, and although most people write to benefit others, some writers may cause harm, either accidentally or intentionally.

When our written words damage another person’s reputation it’s called libel, and being accused of libel is a grim situation. I hope you’ll never find yourself in that position, but if you do, how are you going to defend yourself?

First, and obviously, hire an attorney. He or she will do what you pay him or her to do—vigorously fight for you. This article isn’t intended to replace your attorney. Rather, it’s a layman’s guide to the defenses your attorney will use in court.

(This article is also not a primer in how to avoid libel. Your best bet is to do what your mother said: “If you can’t say anything nice about someone don’t say anything at all.” Libel lawsuits are expensive, even if you win.)

Despite your best efforts, however, you may find yourself accused of libel. When I was a working journalist, my readers or TV viewers regularly called or emailed my newspaper or TV station with threats of a lawsuit. One phone call I remember was from an irate mother; we had published the news that her son was accused of beating his girlfriend. “He didn’t do it and we’re going to sue you!” is what she told me. Of course, she never did sue, and like in that situation, virtually all threats of a lawsuit are nonsense because there’s no chance of a complainer prevailing in court.

But, and this point cannot be stressed enough, they could sue. The fact is anyone can sue anyone else for anything. When I teach media law, I tell my students, “I could sue Sam for wearing a hat to my class.” And that’s true. I would lose in court, but I could, in theory, sue. So, if you find yourself on the wrong end of a libel suit how will you, and your attorney, defend your words? There are three ways.

The first defense against libel is truth. Generally, if your words were accurate, no matter how potentially damaging, you’ll stand a good chance of winning the lawsuit. The obvious lesson here is to always write the truth, but it’s not that simple. Sometimes sources give you wrong information. Some sources are more reliable than others. You may think you’re writing the truth when you’re not.

That leads to the second defense against libel, which is privilege or more properly called qualified privilege. This means you received your information from an official source, such as a police department. This defense is why I had no concerns when the woman called about her son who had been accused of beating his girlfriend. I told her, accurately, that we did not say he had; we said the police said he did it. That’s a crucial difference. If you ever accuse anyone of wrongdoing be sure to preface it with “according to police” or similar terms. One caveat: don’t write “allegedly” unless you say who’s doing the alleging.

The final defense against libel is fair comment. This means writers may comment on issues of public importance as long as their comments are, well, fair. Fair comment doesn’t give us the option of making up information; it means we’re exercising our first amendment right to free speech.

With any libel lawsuit there’s another issue that’s considered—is the person who claims he or she was libeled a public figure? This is important because public figures have less protection against libel than non-public figures. Public figures have to prove that the person who wrote negative information engaged in actual malice. That is, the writer knew the accusatory words weren’t true and wrote them anyway.

As an example, it’s fine to write that you believe your governor handled the coronavirus pandemic poorly. That’s fair comment, and your governor is a public figure. But don’t write that your governor snuck into nursing homes and deliberately infected residents with the virus. You know that’s not true, so it’s actual malice. (One issue is that the line between public and non-public figures is a blurry one. It’s up to the court to decide if the person you’re accused of libeling is a public or non-public figure.)

So, to recap, remember that anyone can sue you for libel, regardless of whether you actually libeled them. Winning is another matter. You have three weapons to defend yourself—truth, privilege, and fair comment.