Can using a &quot;simile&quot; constitute defamation?
<p>Suppose someone said, &quot;X looks like someone with a venereal disease.&quot; That is known as a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simile" rel="nofollow noreferrer">simile</a>.</p>
<p>Now &quot;X has a venereal disease&quot; would constitute defamation (if untrue). But the statement was &quot;X looks like...&quot;</p>
<p>In the United States would the following, or other defenses hold: 1) &quot;X looks like...&quot; is a statement of opinion rather than fact, and therefore not defamatory?&quot; 2) An expert (e.g medical) witness testifies that a picture of X looks like that of someone with a (certain) venereal disease, whether or not s/he actually has it?&quot;</p>
<p>How about the United Kingdom, where defamation laws are more plaintiff-friendly?</p>

<p>If a factual statement is implied, rather than explicit, it can still constitute defamation.  &quot;T looks like a thief&quot; may be an expression of opinion (&quot;I think that T might be a thief&quot;) or it might be a slightly oblique way of saying &quot;T is a thief&quot;. That would ultimately be a matter for the finder of fact, often a jury in the <a href="/questions/tagged/united-states" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;united-states&#39;" rel="tag">united-states</a>, to determine.</p>
<p>See HG.org,s page on <a href="https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/defamation-by-implication-47608" rel="noreferrer">&quot;Defamation by Implication&quot;</a></p>
<p>The article <a href="https://kellywarnerlaw.com/defamation-by-implication" rel="noreferrer">&quot;Libel and Slander 101: Defamation By Implication&quot;</a> by   Daniel R. Warner  of RM Warner, a lawyer specializing in Internet defamation, among other kinds of cases, cites and discusses as cases where US coiurts have upheld defamation by implication:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><em>Kendall v. Virgin Island Daily News</em> in March 2013. (3rd Circuit) Plaintiff was a public figure and had to show actual malice, defendants were a reporter and a newspaper;</p>
</li>
<li><p><em>Woods v. Evansville Press Co:</em> (7th Circuit). The Court held that  &quot;an implied statement, just as a statement made in direct language, can be defamatory.&quot;</p>
</li>
<li><p><em>Newton v. National Broadcasting, Co.:</em></p>
</li>
</ul>

united-states united-kingdom defamation