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In the U.S., "defamation" basically consists of an alleging (false) claims that can be taken as facts. This does not cover wishes or fantasies. So "I wish I could sleep with Jane Doe" (a famous a...
Answer
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T06:44:24Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29136 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
Tom Au
·
2019-12-08T06:44:24Z (over 4 years ago)
In the U.S., "defamation" basically consists of an alleging (false) claims that can be taken as facts. This does not cover wishes or fantasies. So "I wish I could sleep with Jane Doe" (a famous actress) is not "defamation." (Many men probably do.) But "I slept with Jane Doe" could be defamation (unless true). There is one additional problem because your novel is set in, and involves citizens of Britain, where the defamation laws are _much_ more in favor of plaintiffs. There, you might get into trouble for an exprssed ["wish"](https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/38923/thought-crimes-in-history) if sued in a British court. These laws were basically enacted over the centuries to protect kings, high ranking nobles, and wealthy people in general, and may be enforceable even today.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2017-07-09T08:48:37Z (almost 7 years ago)
Original score: 0