SC20950 - Murphy v. Rosen ("The use of derogatory remarks on social media and elsewhere has become commonplace in political discourse, with words and phrases taking on different meanings depending on the context in which the expression is made, the intentions of the speaker, and the viewpoint of the audience. This case arises out of heated political dialogue that took place on a town's social media page. The plaintiff, Sean Murphy, appeals from the judgment of the trial court, which granted the special motion to dismiss filed by the defendant, Beth Rosen, pursuant to Connecticut's anti-SLAPP statute. See General Statutes § 52-196a. The trial court determined, as a matter of law, that the statements made by the defendant labeling the plaintiff as a "white supremacist" were nonactionable opinions. Therefore, the court concluded that the plaintiff had failed to satisfy his burden of showing that there was probable cause that he would succeed on the merits of his defamation per se claim, as required by § 52-196a (e) (3). The primary issue on appeal is whether the characterization of the plaintiff as a "white supremacist" is, standing alone, an actionable fact constituting defamation per se. We conclude that, although calling someone a "white supremacist" or a "racist" is a serious accusation, the meanings of these terms are inherently subjective. As a result, we join numerous other jurisdictions that have concluded that these terms are not objectively verifiable and do not, without more, imply the existence of undisclosed defamatory facts. Because the trial court correctly determined that the defendant's allegedly defamatory statements constituted nonactionable opinions, we affirm the judgment of dismissal.")