In the age of the internet, it has become popular for people to attack their enemies by releasing their private information on social media, opening them up to harassment or physical attack from other people.
This has become especially prevalent in situations where individuals become unpopular in the media. Whether the negative attention is deserved or not, people are often doxed when they become unpopular in the media.
The most recent examples of this phenomena are Martin Shkreli the infamous big pharma CEO, and Daryush “Roosh” Valizadeh, the man accused of writing “pro-rape” blogs. Both of these individuals were quickly doxed after becoming pariahs in the media, although they mostly only received empty threats from strangers around the world, they were not actually harmed.
While it may be true that these people deserve the type of harassment that is coming to them, it is still dangerous to release private information to an angry public, and it is also dangerous to help share that information.
It is entirely possible for a hacker to gather incorrect or old information, which could result in innocent people being misidentified as the target. If someone is upset enough with the target and wishes to use violence against them, they could potentially hurt innocent people if they are sent to the wrong address. Additionally, if the target happens to live with roommates or family members, those innocent people can also be put in danger just for being at the same address.
Social ostracization is a useful method that both groups and individuals can use to keep one another in check, but this can be done effectively without revealing a person’s private information. Public awareness of a person or organization’s unethical actions can lead to boycotts, loss of work, and other setbacks that can actually have an impact. Releasing someone’s information can really produce very little of value, aside from violence, vandalism and harassment.
This article (Why You Should Never Share A “Doxed” Address, No Matter How Bad The Person Is) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com.
John Vibes is an author and researcher who organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference. He also has a publishing company where he offers a censorship free platform for both fiction and non-fiction writers. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can purchase his books, or get your own book published at his website www.JohnVibes.com.
