Solidarity and Support: IDEAS for Those Being Harassed, Bullied, Defamed for Online Activism Work*
Anastasia (Staci) Sprout
Troublesome new forms of harassment include doxing (malevolent public exposure of private information), false reporting, and malicious use of process.
In an attempt to silence views that the harasser opposes, they seek to ruin reputations and prevent advocates’ speaking opportunities. They rely on a common tactic: shame the target, and deceive the public, journalists, and service and government organizations.
One strategy is to repeat a lie continuously, under the appearance of credibility, so that readers will eventually presume it is true. Only those who research can see behind clever deceit in the form of fake websites and made-up reports of abuse.
Another growing concern for defamation is the corruption of Wikipedia by gangs of biased editors who prevent factual information from being edited into this online encyclopedia, and false information from being corrected. Since much of the public still uses Wikipedia as a reliable source of information, this tactic serves to ruin reputations and prevent exposure, while rendering its victims powerless to appeal the Wikipedia misinformation and disinformation.
In July 2020, a group of advocates and media professionals united in conversation about their experiences of being attacked, our suspicions of some of the forces behind our attacks, and how we have coped. Here is the summary…
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