false light

1. noun A viewpoint that is inaccurate, untrue, or misleading. The incumbent senator contends that her opponent has painted her in a false light with misleading claims about her voting record. I know that deep down the CEO is an insecure coward, but he has always presents himself in a false light as the company's fearless leader. I think everyone presents themselves in a false light because they never want to accentuate their unavoidable human shortcomings.

2. noun In law, a tort concerning how one's actions or statements have invaded someone's privacy in a manner that created a misleading or inaccurate public perception, resulting in emotional or mental distress. A: "The way they worded that headline makes her sound like a monster who prioritized her lifestyle over the well-being of her children, and the public thinks it's completely true! She's absolutely devastated." B: "It sounds like she has grounds for a false light claim to me. She should have her lawyer look into it." As her disgruntled ex-husband, he would certainly have a reason to reveal embarrassing information about her. Sounds like false light to me. Of course I'm going to sue her for false light—she completely destroyed my reputation!

3. adjective Related to such a tort. Typically hyphenated and used before a noun. If you ask me, this false-light case is going to be hard to prosecute. How do you prove injury in a case like this? Of course I'm going to sue her—she completely destroyed my reputation with her lies! It's a false light case, for sure. What kind of success does your lawyer have in winning false-light cases?