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VICIOUS GOSSIP ONLINE CAN BE CYBERBULLYING

Gossip exists. Everywhere. When gossip is circulated through email, websites or any electronic communications connected to the internet, it can be potentially available forever to every location in the world. Local gossip is no longer limited to the immediate community for a limited period of time when it is available to the internet. There is a fine line between bad non-malicious humor directed at an individual and character defamation, which is a form of cyberbullying and online harassment. Cyberbullying isn’t limited to children and students. Cyberbullying can be just as devastating for adults through embarrassment, lost or denied employment, lost customers or clients and even emotional trauma or suicidal thoughts or actions. Remember that in the USA, it is against the law to specifically defame a particular person using electronic communications.

SOME WEBSITES ARE CREATED TO PROMOTE GOSSIP

The same kinds of people you meet and know in your everyday lives are the same kinds of people online. Gossip has probably been around since the very first three humans were able to communicate with each other. Online harassment and cyberbullying have been around since the birth of the internet. Now it is so much easier to harass someone online with websites whose sole purpose is to encourage untrue gossip, harassment and defamation of a specific person’s character such as Auto Admit, Gossip Report, Juicy Campus, and Rotten Neighbor. These websites provide a platform where anyone can hide their real identity and post any sentiment they wish about someone whether the content is true or not. Secret Tweet allows anyone to post anything about themselves or others but seems to oversee the content just in case a posting indicates harm to an individual. Blogs aren’t really different except that a blog is posted at a website hosting many blogs typically on different subjects. Online gossip sheets that promote hate and racism through criticisms simply because of a personal difference appear to have respectability simply because they have a viable guise such as being an online news aggregator. One example can be the Perez Hilton website. Some people believe that his words are just "his way". Other people believe that his words promote hate and violence.

REMOVING VICIOUS GOSSIP

Posted content at a website can stay available somewhere on the internet forever. As soon as you know about the lies or gossip being posted about you, contact the company who hosts the website and ask that the post be removed. The sooner the original post is down, the less time the post has to spread across the internet. Websites such as Reputation Defender.com can help remove gossip references in search engines. If you can’t get the offending gossip removed, it is time to talk with an attorney specializing in cybercrimes.

VICIOUS GOSSIPERS ARE COWARDS

The persons who hide behind protection of anonymity are cowards. How many of these people would say the same things to their target’s faces? Just like children. Children who are the targets of cyberbullying most often turn to their peers and friends instead of parents or teachers for comfort and advice about the terrible things posted online about them. The same friends and peers supporting the target can be the cyberbullies or know who they are and not tell the target. Can these adult cyberbullies be neighbors, coworkers, friends or relatives?

LAWS AND LEGISLATION

It is against the law in the USA to specifically defame a particular person or company but there is a fine line between protecting the rights of every citizen to voice their individual perspective (free speech) and defaming, harassing or committing a crime against a particular person or company. This is the dilemma lawmakers are faced with. Lawmakers need to be fair to every citizen including the hatemongers, victims and each individual member of general society. When society itself tolerates hateful language in the neighborhood or on the internet, society is unwillingly validating the respectability of the cyberbully, racist or the hatemonger. It is my personal opinion that each citizen should not tolerate this behavior wherever it is, including the ISP or hosting domain of the website allowing the behavior. If the domain host or ISP has the social conscience to maintain basic respectability then lawmakers wouldn’t have the burden of balancing censorship and individual rights maintaining fairness for every citizen.

IN CLOSING . . .

Gossip can easily turn into cruel insults, vicious rumors, hate crimes or threats to individuals belonging to a different racial, ethnic, religious, sexual orientation or economic group. When non-malicious gossip crosses the line and becomes character defamation for the whole world to know, including prospective employers, customers, clients, love interests, creditors or bankers, it must be identified and curtailed as soon as possible. Don’t let posted defamatory content linger. The longer content is available at the original posting website, the more chance it has of being circulated. Also be aware of how posted content without malicious intent can be misinterpreted and unintentionally hurt someone.