Question

Pete the agent made public statements that falsely portrayed Acme Insurance Company as avoiding claim payments. Pete may be found guilty of:______

Answer 1

Pete may be found guilty of defamation.

Step-by-step explanation:

Pete the agent may be found guilty of defamation.

In this case, Pete made public statements that falsely portrayed Acme Insurance Company as avoiding claim payments. Such false statements are a form of defamation, which refers to the communication of false information that harms the reputation of another individual or entity.

Under the constitutional guarantees, there is a federal rule that prohibits public officials from recovering damages for defamatory falsehoods unless they can prove that the statement was made with "actual malice"—that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.