Defamation refers to attacks on the reputation of a person, business, product, group, or government, by means of false claims; the false claims may be stated plainly or may be insinuated to be true. Libel and Slander are the two torts (civil offenses) that make up Defamation. Slander refers to defamatory remarks that are not in a fixed medium, usually harmful speech. Libel, conversely, deals with false and derogatory statements in a fixed medium. This usually means writing (newspaper article, book, internet blog), but also includes film, compact disc, DVD, etc.