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The Hebrew term lashon hara (or loshon horo) (Hebrew לשון הרע; "evil tongue") is the halakhic term for derogatory speech about another person. Lashon hara differs from defamation in that its focus is on the use of true speech for a wrongful purpose, rather than falsehood and harm arising.
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Speech is considered to be lashon hara if it says something negative about a person or party, is not previously known to the public, is not seriously intended to correct or improve a negative situation, and is true. Statements that fit this description are considered to be lashon hara, regardless of the method of communication that is used, whether it is through face-to-face conversation, a letter, telephone, or email, or even body language.
Lashon hara (lit. "evil tongue") is considered to be a very serious sin in the Jewish tradition. The communicator of Lashon Hara (and rechilut) violates the prohibition of "Lo telech rachil b'ameicha (Leviticus 19:16)."
By contrast, hotzaat shem ra ("spreading a bad name"), also called hotzaat diba, or motzi shem ra (lit. "putting out a bad name") consists of untrue remarks, and is best translated as "slander" or "defamation". Hotzaat shem ra is worse, and consequentially an even graver sin, than lashon hara. And the act of gossiping is called rechilut, and is also forbidden by halakha.
Etymology
The noun lashon, "tongue", followed by the definite article ha and the adjective ra, "evil". The Hebrew noun lashon means "tongue", and as in many languages, "speech" or "language". The phrase is generally translated as "evil speech". The term corresponds to the idea of an evil tongue in other cultures, such as the Latin mala lingua, the French mauvaise langue, and the Spanish mala lengua.
Chafetz Chaim
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan wrote two major halakhic works on the evil tongue: Chafetz Chaim ("Desirer of Life", Psalms 34:13-14) and Shmirat HaLashon ("Guarding the tongue"), both 1873. The Chafetz Chaim lists 31 speech-related commandments mentioned in the Torah. An English translation, Guard Your Tongue, (2002) anthologizes the teachings of these two books.
Baalei Lashon Hara
The expression Baalei Lashon Hara literally means "masters of evil tongue", and it refers to habitual speakers of Lashon Hara. The serious prohibition of communicating lashon harah relates foremost to somebody who incidentally did so. Someone who makes it his habit to talk lashon harah about others ("did you hear ...", "do you already know ...", etc.) is called a ba'al lashon hara. By repeatedly communicating so, lashon hara became an integral part of this person, and his/her sins are far more severe, because this person regularly creates a Chillul Hashem, meaning a "desecration of the name of HaShem" (Leviticus 22:32). Lashon Hara and also Rechilut and Motzi Shem Ra are not accepted social tools in (Orthodox) Judaism because such behavior cuts the person who does in this manner off from many good things in the world around them. It is often phrased that one should stay away from people who communicate Lashon Hara because any day, one will almost certainly become an object of derogatory communication by the same people.
Exceptions
There are times when a person is supposed to speak out, even though the information may be disparaging. Specifically, if a person’s intent in sharing the negative information is for a to’elet, a positive, constructive, and beneficial purpose, the prohibition against lashon hara does not apply if the lashon hara serves as a warning to prevent the possibility of future physical harm or, if the truth, to exonerate the subject of any wrongdoing he or she may originally be accused of. Hotzaat shem ra, spouting lies and spreading disinformation, is always prohibited. It is important to note that even with positive intentions, there are many important limitations regarding when it is permitted to speak lashon hara.