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  • Torah and Jewish Thought
  • Lashon Hara

Lashon Hara on the Internet

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Rabbi Moshe Leib Halberstadt

Nisan 22, 5774
Question
You noted that it is permitted to publicize something posted on the internet if the info was not damaging; however, when I check the source you provided - Laws of Lashon Hara 2:13, Beer Mayim Haim 27 - it seems to me that he allows even if the info is damaging (ri’uta) - as long as it was made public by the individual himself. Can you please clarify: can reuven publicize something bad about shimon if shimon himself posted the info proudly on his own website? Thanks
Answer
There is a difference between monetary or business issues which if a person publicizes himself in front of three people, or in our case on his website, it is permitted to tell others about it even if it may cause some damage, and this is what the Be'er Mayim Chaim 27 is referring to. But something which is derogatory such as a sin that one has transgressed, it is forbidden to publicize it even if the person himself mentioned it in front of three people or posted it on his website, because it might embarrass him, and the intention of the person publicizing it is to embarrass him. This part is written in Be'er Mayim Chaim 28.
את המידע הדפסתי באמצעות אתר yeshiva.org.il