Legal Definitions - actual malice

Actual malice is a legal term that refers to the deliberate intent to cause harm or injury to someone, without any justification or excuse. It can also refer to reckless disregard for the law or a person's legal rights. This term is often used in cases of defamation, where a person knowingly makes false statements about someone else.

• If a newspaper publishes a false story about a public figure, knowing that it is false, that is considered actual malice.
• If someone intentionally spreads rumors about a coworker to get them fired, that is also considered actual malice.

These examples illustrate how actual malice involves a deliberate intent to cause harm or injury, or a reckless disregard for the truth. In both cases, the person knew that what they were doing was wrong, but did it anyway.