In the U.S. the burden is on the plaintiff (the person allegedly defamed) to prove that the defamatory statement was false IF the plaintiff is a public figure O

In the U.S. the burden is on the plaintiff (the person allegedly defamed) to prove that the defamatory statement was false IF the plaintiff is a public figure OR if the statement involved a matter of public concern; otherwise the burden is on the defendant to prove the truth of the defamatory statement. [0] [0] http://www.rcfp.org/first-amendment-handbook/introduction-defamatory-communication-publication-falsity http://www.rcfp.org/first-amendment-handbook/introduction-de... (scroll down to "Falsity")