Online abuse—like nearly any type of abuse—relies on a victim’s sense of shame. When a victim gives into that shame by going silent, the abuser wins. Conversely, victory is only possible when a victim refuses to go silent. So speak out. Solicit help and support from others. Dig deep; find the courage to stand up. More and more victims are linking arms and refusing to be forced quietly into the night. This is how things turn around.
~ Candice Blain, attorney and founder of Blain LLC, a law firm specializing in helping victims of cyber abuse
Deleting content against the wishes of the hosting site would require illegal hacking. It’s also very difficult to get content removed through legal channels—and to make things worse, legal efforts often draw even more attention to the initial problem. The best solution is to push down negative results so they won’t be seen.
Online Reputation Management (ORM). This is a thing??
Online Reputation Management or ORM, is a process undertaken in part, to remove or bury harmful, malicious, untruthful and defamatory content posted online, into the deeper pages of search engine results pages (SERP). Google’s algorithm uses various signals to ‘rank’ web pages within its SERP, and so Online Reputation Management has become an important tool within Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and subsequently, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) standards and practices.
One’s online reputation, both personal and professional, greatly impacts how they are perceived by the public (particularly, by those for whom search results are a first impression). Online Reputation Management (ORM) has become a major component of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) as cyber abuses have run rampant in the last number of years. Social Media sites and platforms have also become havens for cyber stalkers, abusers and bullies, making it an even greater challenge to combat online harassment. There are so many people suffering, whose lives have been completely upended by subjection to cyber harassment, revenge porn and other online abuses. For businesses, while one or 2 bad reviews on the internet can be a Public Relations (PR) nightmare and negatively impact a business’s bottom line, widespread abuses can be completely devastating and wipe some businesses right out.
GENERATE TRUTHFUL CONTENT / SAY SOMETHING GOOD
Clear-A-Name’s mandate is to provide a forum for people to be truthful and to refute online harassment, bullying, false accusations and defamatory content posted about themselves, other individuals or businesses on ‘scam’, ‘cheater’, ‘gossip’ and other similarly nefarious, disreputable and completely untrustworthy websites. Victims of online harassment (and the people who support them) can use this website to make and stand behind firm declarations that will not only serve to clear the names of those being attacked, but will also help to push the negative and malevolent content further down the search results, making it much more difficult to find.