Lashon Hara Just a Click Away 23

3. Intend only to achieve a beneficial outcome.

4.Share the information only as a last resort, once you have determined there is no other way to avoid a harmful outcome.

5.The information may be shared only if the potential harm to the recipient far outweighs the harm done to the person whose information is shared.

These criteria can help us decide any number of situations, including whether or not to delete or forward the stories and allegations that daily deluge our In-Boxes and what it is appropriate to circulate and post to websites.

Fifth, we have a legitimate need for, and right to, information about leaders and politicians in positions of power and authority. However, that need does not obviate the responsibility to evaluate the accuracy of what we read, and especially what we share with others. In becoming a public servant or politician, one does not forfeit one’s right to not become the subject of lashon hara. Our public servants and politicians are not“fair game” for our frustrations, suspicions, and political differences.’’

Sixth, we can teach people the concept of avak lashon hara™(the dust of lashon hara) which means language or writings intended to lower a person’s reputation in the eyes of others, or which invites others to engage in lashon hara with statements such as,“Let’s not talk about Ploni because 1 don’t want to reveal what I know about him.” Similarly, praise at the wrong time, or delivered in such a way that it raises doubt about a person’s integrity, is avak lashon hara. News stories specialize in the dust of lashon hara

Seventh, we need to begin teaching our children the meaning of lashon hara, rechilut, and motzi shem ra, and the Jewish values that pertain, when they are young, because children in our society are gaining access to the Internet at a younger age than ever before, and it constitutes an increasingly large proportion of their daily