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.
~ reputationdefender.com
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.
If there is negative content about you or someone you care about on the internet, particularly on websites that exist for that very purpose – and there are many – that content will likely find its way into search engine results where anyone can happen upon it. The operators of these websites don’t bother monitoring or fact-checking posts. Anything goes. Posts go live in real time. They typically don’t respond to removal requests and if they do, it’s to notify you of their fee for doing so. In many cases, these websites don’t post comments / rebuttals and if they do, the only way to find them is to click through to the site on which the content appears, a step which is the last action you want anyone to take. The owners and operators of these websites hide behind the First Amendment and particularly, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which clears them from any accountability for posts and comments written by third parties. It’s staggering and quite upsetting just how many of these sites exist. We don’t want to name them, and Clear-A-Name’s users are encouraged not to do so either, so as not to promote any of them in any way – but they are numerous. Characteristically, none of their operators care an iota for the people whose lives are so deeply impacted by the hurtful, embarrassing, world-wide sullying of their reputations.
C-A-N urge users to invite their friends and loved ones to leave comments, as well as create their own posts; to ‘vouch’ for their character – and to ‘own it’ by posting their names (strongly encouraged but not enforced). It’s akin to signing a petition. The websites that are out there, that exist to provide a forum for and to promote malicious content about others, allow their users to do so anonymously; therefore, it’s impossible to know if the stories and claims are even remotely credible – and in so many cases, they’re not. On Clear-A-Name, any content discovered or reported that breaches our mandate will be removed. Removal requests from the subjects of articles are honoured at no cost. Posts are reviewed prior to going live on the site. Again, this site is intended as a tool and support system for people who contend that they have been wrongfully attacked and who wish to defend and protect their reputations, whether affected personally, professionally or both.
It can be extremely costly, both in time and money, to have content removed from the internet. An entire cottage industry has been built around repairing the reputations of people who have been personally / professionally victimized on the internet.
This website provides a FREE alternative. It exists as a credible forum on which reputations can be restored and as a support system and resource for the bullied and abused. The more truthful and positive posts that are created here, the more difficult it will be to find the nasty and negative content in search results. The more people who support the victims of online attacks, the less likely the negative content is to be believed if it is found. You appear on the Clear-A-Name website because you are choosing to stand up for yourself or because others are doing it for you (or both). Your action is precisely what is needed to effectively combat disparaging and damaging content posted elsewhere on the internet. The laws have simply not caught up with technology. The internet can be a vicious place. There is little recourse for victims of online abuse, character assassination and bullying. I have dealt with lawyers and cyber crime experts and have spoken with Reputation Management firms: If you don’t have the means to get the content removed (content which can always come back even after you may have paid substantial sums), your best course of action is to battle lies with truth to create positive content which pushes back against, as well as pushes down the negative and defamatory content appearing in search results.
Note: If you’re a victim of online attacks looking to clear your name but are concerned about drawing attention to something that you’re not sure people would otherwise even know about, keep in mind that people aren’t accessing this site to browse. This is not a social website with ‘likes’ and followers that people log onto daily. If someone is on Clear-A-Name as a visitor, it is most likely because they have been led here via a Google search of someone’s name. Thus, the best strategy is to ensure that content defending against and invalidating negative content appears on Google. If you’re a candidate for a job and your prospective employer conducting a search discovers negative content about you, he/she will also see the positive content about you from this site. This discovery can only help your situation.
And yes – we recognize that not everybody is completely free and clear of wrongdoing that results in online harassment. Circumstances can vary. But that you have discovered and subsequently posted on this site and have asked others to comment on / support your post(s) strongly indicates you’ve been looking for a means to fight back because you’ve been wrongly accused. This site is for people who seek to defend and protect their reputations and clear their name, people who can’t spend thousands of dollars to have negative content removed and who have limited or no legal recourse. Clear-A-Name offers a little bit of help that can go a long way.
Clear-A-Name aspire to offer a legal, ethical, trouble-free platform, which gives targets of online harassment a positive presence, and a voice to rebut and combat the negative content about them. Stand up for yourself / others here. Generate truthful content.