The mayor of your town opens the newspaper and reads that she cavorts with known mobsters and drug dealers. She is outraged and screams, "This defames my impeccable character! I have been libeled!" Would she be able to win in court if she sued the paper? Question 4 options: Probably not, because she's a public official, so she would have to prove falsehood, damages, negligence, and actual malice on the part of the paper. Yes, but only if she could prove that the newspaper's claims were false. No, because newspapers' right to free speech is absolute. It depends on the state in which she lives