Amy Scheinerman
conveyed electronically— but graphic images, as well, can constitute /ashon hara. Can images that are chezek r'iah (visual damage) be considered lashon hara as well?
The Internet is a remarkably efficient vehicle for spreading lashon hara and rechilut. Expecting or hoping that we can rid the Internet of such material is like expecting ocean waves to cease crashing against the shore. However, each of us has the choice whether or not to put a toe into that ocean, or to remain on shore as far from the churning waters as possible. Therefore, we will not discuss the tsunami itself, facilitated by the Internet, but rather what a committed and ethical Jew can do in the face of the incoming storm.
Numerous Questions Leap to Mind.
I. Is the circulation of lashon hara and rechilut on the Internet morally and halakhically equivalent to verbal utterances? Torah recognizes speech as the natural medium of lashon hara and rechilut, but the modern world is Internet saturated. Do email, tweets, blogs and websites hold the same halakhic status as speech vis-a-vis lashon hara? Just as the U.S. Constitution recognizes the written word as“speech,” so too do electronic words(shall we call them ewords?) function as speech in our age and indeed, the Internet is a far more effective and powerful medium for conveyance.
2. How should we, as Jews , respond to an ever-burgeoning“In Box” filled with stories, gossip, and hot-off-the-press revelations that constitute lashon hara and rechilut at a speed® inconceivable to our Sages and increasing exponentially?
3. Is lashon hara disseminated via the Internet qualitatively different than normal human speech or conventionally printed material, or only quantitatively different? Does it differ in kind, or only in degree? Is the Internet new and unprecedented? Even if not, do the