---
title: "List the defamatory meanings the publication can reasonably bear"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/list-candidate-imputations-from-the-publication/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A33-T1-R1-US"
practice_area: "Defamation & Media Law"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# List the defamatory meanings the publication can reasonably bear

> Quote each passage and list the meanings it can bear, separated into what it says and what it implies. Write no paragraph of a complaint.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/list-candidate-imputations-from-the-publication/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Defamation & Media Law](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Quote each passage and list the meanings it can bear, separated into what it says and what it implies. Write no paragraph of a complaint. |
| What the lawyer must review | You choose the meanings that will be pleaded. California Civil Code § 45 requires a false and unprivileged publication that exposes the person to hatred, contempt, ridicule or obloquy, or that tends to injure the person in their occupation. Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990): there is no separate constitutional privilege for anything labelled opinion, and a statement on a matter of public concern must be provable as false. You plead the meaning. The list does not. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [List candidate imputations from the publication](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/list-candidate-imputations-from-the-publication.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Quote each passage and list the meanings it can bear, separated into what it says and what it implies. Write no paragraph of a complaint.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- A meaning the table proposes is not an imputation you have adopted. Strike the ones you will not stand behind under Rule 11 if the case is in federal court.
- Public-official and public-figure fault is Sullivan actual malice. Do not treat every plaintiff as a private figure.

## Sources

- [California Civil Code § 45 (libel defined)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=45) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/497/1) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/376/254) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Publication capture worksheet](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/us-publication-capture-worksheet.md) | Checklist | Yellow | A worksheet for recording a publication before a correction demand: the words, the URL, the time, and who could see it. It does not decide what the statements mean. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*