Final answer:
Fraud involves intentional deception to gain an advantage or harm others. It includes various unethical behaviors like plagiarism, cheating, and misrepresentation of facts. Government officials are protected against defamatory falsehoods unless made with 'actual malice'.
Step-by-step explanation:
Fraud is the intentional misrepresentation or concealment of relevant facts. It involves a person or entity deliberately deceiving others in order to gain an unfair advantage or to harm the interests of another. In the realm of academia, for example, this could include a range of unethical behaviors such as plagiarism (presenting someone else's work as your own), cheating (obtaining an unfair advantage on an exam), or misrepresentation of facts (distorting data or truth). Additionally, in the context of public duty, government officials are protected against defamatory falsehood unless it is proved that the statement was made with 'actual malice'. This level of malice implies knowing that a statement was false or showing reckless disregard for the truth.