Yesterday: Slam Books. Today: Online Bullying and Public Shaming.

[By Bruce Hennes] I recall, from the 1960s, what we called “Slam Books” – spiral-bound notebooks with a single student’s name at the top of each page and enough pages to list every student in class.  These books were passed surreptitiously, and students would write about their classmates until teachers confiscated them.  The anonymous comments tended to be rude, profane, explicit, misogynistic, hurtful and downright nasty.

In elementary and middle school, I mostly escaped the wrath of my fellow students, so I’m not writing to correct a 50-year old wrong – though perhaps to atone for my own youthful participation.

Alas, online bullying has now replaced yesterday’s Slam Books. Today’s bullying has a mob mentality, can be international in scope, and too often results in devastating, life-changing losses for those pursued and attacked.  (Sadly, some have taken their own lives.)  Yik Yak is the latest iteration of online bullying.

Labeling this digital phenomenon “public shaming,” the Poynter Institute recently called upon journalists to turn the tables on those who shame from behind avatars and pseudonyms:

Public shaming has been in style for a while and journalism plays a significant role. It’s time to examine the ethics of this.

Public shaming, or openly humiliating someone as punishment for a certain behavior, is inherently a form of intimidation.  It’s a strategy where we shine a light so hot and bright on a subject that he or she suffers, or at the very least shuts up and goes away.

It’s often perceived as positive because it exposes what many people consider bad behavior such as when BuzzFeed aggregated a bunch of racist tweets after an Indian-American woman won the Miss America crown.

Once a public shaming is underway, newsrooms often document the phenomenon for the public, exacerbating the shame and humiliation.

So how can journalism be part of the solution, rather than bringing a bullhorn to the problem?

To read the full piece from Poynter, please click here.

A few things might protect one from the shaming mob: Get off the grid; move to Montana; live a virtuous life; offend no one.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t work for most of us, who are left to worry about sending a single wrong tweet, exhibiting an inappropriate reaction, making an offensive statement or simply making a mistake.

Once the mob decides you’re a villain, it’s very difficult – and sometimes impossible – to change the narrative. As Ray Donovan, former U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Reagan, said after being falsely accused of larceny and fraud, “Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?”

What can you do to protect yourself and your organization against online shaming? Start by:

• Honestly evaluating likely vulnerabilities. If someone were to attack you or your organization, what would they likely go after?
• Establishing strong relationships with credible third parties who can come to your defense when needed.
• Creating a Crisis Communications Plan so you can get your side of the story out fast because, if you’re not part of the first news cycle, you risk losing control of the narrative.

Slam Books were momentarily hurtful, but most were tossed in the trash. By contrast, today’s version of the Slam Book is digital, with the shelf-life of uranium and the ability to travel around the world instantly. Unfortunately, it’s our new reality – at least for now.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES

In the last issue of Crisis & Reputation Today, we referenced Monica Lewinsky’s recent TED Talk about cyber-bullying. You can read that here.

Also, a new book by Jon Ronson, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, concludes that public shaming in the age of social media has more power that any form of shaming ever before. You can read the New York Times review here. An interview with Mr. Ronson on National Public Radio is available here.