By Anita Hamilton Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2008
Nasty breakups are bad enough. But what if your ex broadcast your dirty laundry to millions? That’s what British actress Tricia Walsh-Smith did infamously on April 10, when she posted the first of three YouTube videos in which she slammed her soon-to-be-ex-husband for everything from his questionable character and inadequate sexual skills to his extended family whom she disliked. Walsh-Smith’s videos, which were collectively viewed more than 4 million times, reflect more than just the despair of a jilted woman. They’re part of a larger and fast-growing problem: reputation-wrecking online.
Derogatory comments spread easily online and off, but in the real world, they are often easily forgotten. The same kind of malicious statement posted online can spread further and last forever. “Now we have this giant megaphone of the Internet, where every little whisper about someone shows up in Google,” says Matt Zimmerman, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
These days, as more and more people join social-networking sites, comment on opinion-sharing sites like TripAdvisor.com and Yelp.com or otherwise participate in life online, personal attacks against individuals and businesses on the Web are being taken more seriously than ever. Barb-trading has escalated — sometimes in front of thousands of witnesses — and so too have the ways in which the maligned are fighting back. Many try to discredit their attackers by posting a rebuttal to the offending post, or asking website managers to remove disagreeable material. Some folks sue their critics for defamation. Still others go the ultimate step…
