Which legal theory involves false statements that could harm someone's reputation?

Defamation is the legal theory that deals with false statements that can harm someone's reputation. It encompasses making untrue statements about an individual that damage their good name, character, or reputation. Defamation can take two forms: libel, which pertains to written statements, and slander, which relates to spoken statements.

When a person claims defamation, they must typically prove that the statement was false, damaging, and made with a certain level of fault regarding its truthfulness (e.g., negligence or actual malice). This legal framework emphasizes the importance of protecting individuals' reputations from false and harmful assertions.

In contrast, the other options relate to different legal principles. Negligence involves a failure to exercise reasonable care that results in harm to another person, misrepresentation concerns providing false information that induces another party to enter into a contract or transaction, and strict tort liability holds a party liable without a need to prove negligence or fault for certain actions or products. None of these specifically addresses the issue of reputation harm through false statements as directly as defamation does.