Where the Harpies Roost: A Familiar Spot?
April 21, 2021
Insults, lies, and even doxing. We learn of a group of mean-spirited people who seem to have way too much time on their hands in the piece, “How Gossip Forum Tattle Life Became the Most Toxic Place on the Internet” at the UK’s NewStatesman. Perhaps risking her own tranquility, reporter Sarah Manavis writes about those who go to Tattle Life to gossip about thousands of public figures. That term is used loosely here—some of the “influencers” they target have fewer than 10,000 subscribers. For whatever reason, Tattle Life members are motivated to uncover and discuss personal details about these figures and their family members, including young children. They condemn their targets for the smallest of details from weight gain to missing a lampshade in their bedroom. Manavis writes:
“Tattle Life describes itself as a platform for ‘commentary and critiques of people that choose to monetize their personal life as a business and release it into the public domain’, framing itself as a space where users can hold the rich and famous to account. The site’s Wiki, which includes basic biographical information about high-profile influencers, also catalogues each individual’s perceived ‘wrongdoing’ – from rumors about unethical business practices to the number of times they’re suspected of breaking lockdown rules during the pandemic. … And although there may only be a few thousand different dedicated threads, the volume of comments shows the true breadth of the site: in the subsection of ‘Instagrammers’, which includes 2,000 threads, the number of total comments surpasses one million. This is staggering when you consider the site is less than three years old.”
If these rumormongers cannot find any details to prattle on about they will simply make them up, going into great detail about fictional past relationships, jobs, and more. Even worse, several targets have been doxed, putting them and their families in harm’s way. Many of the subjects of this abuse, understandably, find it takes a toll on their mental health. Several have been driven offline altogether. There have been efforts to have the site taken down, like this Change.org petition, but the British parliament has declined to interfere. If this site’s attacks do not count as objectionable content, what does?
Cynthia Murrell, April 21, 2021
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