Because one defence to a charge of defamation is that the statement is in fact true, the concept does not properly apply to that which cannot be verified as either true or false, such as statements of belief or opinion.
对诽谤指控的一种辩解认为，有关言论事实上是真实的，因而这个概念并不能妥善地适用于不能证明为真实或虚假的情况，如信仰或观点的表述。