Original: Defamation may occur when one party ( the eventual defendant if a case goes forward ) writes or says something that is false about a second party ( plaintiff ) such that some third party '' receives '' the communication , and the communication of false information damages the plaintiff '' .
Simplified: However , if someone says , '' Mr. Jones steals candy from children '' , then the statement is defamatory if it is not true , because it would be a fact , not an opinion .