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Lashon Hara Just a Click Away 21

others circulate on the Internet, we can control what we do. I offer seven points:

First, remind people to stop and think before hitting the“forward” button. It’s not just common sense; it’s a religious obligation, because casual“forwarding” is ethically identical to carefully planned and intentional“forwarding.” Consider whether what you’re about to forward, post, or circulate is /ashon hara, rechilut, or motzi shem ra.**Consider the effect the material might have on another person’s reputation, career, and life. Repeating something already in the public domain that is true and factually accurate is not lashon hara, but it may be rechilut. Rambam points out that the prohibition against rechilut(Leviticus 19:16) includes in the very same pasuk the words, lo ta’amod al dam rei’ekha“Do not profit by the blood of your neighbor” to remind us of the gravity of the prohibition against evil speech.”

Second, avoid being an audience for lashon hara, rechilut, and motzi shem ra. Tanhuma makes the astute observation that“Lashon hara kills three[people], the one who speaks it, the one who listens to it, and the one about whom it is spoken.””® Those who listen to— and in the case of the Internet, willingly receive and read or listen to— lashon hara are compromising their own spiritual wellbeing. Simultaneously, they are contributing to the circulation of /ashon hara, which, without an audience, would go nowhere. While it may seem uncomfortable to say to a friend or acquaintance,“Please do not send me messages like this, containing unsubstantiated rumors and innuendoes, because it violates my religious ethics to read it,” doing so will not lose one the respect of a friend or acquaintance, and may well inspire the sender to curtain his or her trafficking in such material.

Third, remember that material sent by email, posted to blogs, or tweeted does not fade away. Much is archived, and much remains on the web, easily located by people with malicious intent. Like the