Business Cyberbullies and How To Fight Back (eBook)

Introduction xv
1 Cyberbullying, Cyber Libel, and Defamation 1
1. When Does Digital Content Cross the Line? 3
1.1 Slander 4
1.2 Libel 5
1.3 Defamation 5
2 The Psychology of a Cyberbully 9
1. What Cyberbullies Do 12
1.1 Types of actions that bullies take 12
1.2 Cyberbullying tactics 13
3 Who Is Most at Risk? 17
1. How High-Profile Individuals become Targets 22
vi Business Cyberbullies and How to Fight Back
4 Can You Stop Cyberbullying before
It Happens? 25
1. Monitor and Manage Your Online Presence 26
2. Online Security 27
3. Be Mindful of All That Is Said and Presented in Your Name 29
5 When a Post Crosses the Line 31
1. Trolls 33
2. Good versus Evil 36
3. Church Closes Food Bank Because It Attracts Poor People 37
4. A Word About Poor Marketing That Crosses the Line 37
5. When You Decide the Line Has Been Crossed 38
6 When You Discover You Are the Target
of a Cyberbully 41
1. You’ve Been Cyber Attacked: Now What? 41
1.1 Stay calm 42
1.2 Document 42
1.3 Tell somebody 42
1.4 Find out who owns the website where the post
was made 43
1.5 Block the cyberbully 43
1.6 Legal advice 44
1.7 Report it to the police 45
2. What Not to Do 45
7 The Short-Term and Long-Term Effects
of Being Cyberbullied 47
1. Top Model Charlotte Dawson 47
2. Recognizing the Emotions You’ll Experience 48
2.1 The emotional stages of defamation 48
3. The Psychological Price of Being a Businessperson 51
4. Financial Impact on Business 54
5. Can Your Business Recover? 55
Contents vii
8 How Bullies Roll 57
1. Cyber Hacks 58
1.1 The World Cup attracted online cyberattackers
as much as it attracted fans 58
1.2 Internet Billboards was hacked 58
1.3 Mobile infiltrations 59
2. Harassment 60
2.1 Fatal attraction, Internet-style 60
3. Internet Defamation 61
3.1 TTC runs red light then nearly kills woman 61
3.2 Why Is Lambda Legal cyberbullying a
small business? 62
4. Prohibited Creditor Practices 62
4.1 Debt collectors troll debtor’s friends on Facebook 62
9 The Law and Cyberbullying 63
1. Legislation to End Anonymity on the Internet 69
2. Debt Collection Laws 71
2.1 My story 71
2.2 Is there a debtor’s prison? 76
2.3 Statutes of limitations 77
2.4 United States collections 78
2.5 Collections in Canada 79
2.6 If you’ve been taken to collections or had to file
for bankruptcy, you’re in good company 81
3. Criminal and Civil Codes and Laws 82
3.1 Cyberbullying and the law 82
10 Documenting Your Case 87
1. Take a Screenshot 87
2. Do a Forensic Audit 89
3. To Sue or Not to Sue 91
viii Business Cyberbullies and How to Fight Back
11 Keyboard Cowards and Cyber Heroes:
Examples of Business Cyberbullying 93
1. Keyboard Cowards 93
1.1 Robert Campbell of Ottawa: 181 charges
of cyberbullying 93
1.2 Jesse Ventura wins $1.8 million in defamation case 94
1.3 Woman arrested for alleged cyberbullying 94
1.4 Restaurant review gone bad 94
1.5 $20 million awarded in Internet libel case 95
1.6 Scientist awarded cyber libel damages 95
1.7 Sabbato v. Hardy, Ohio Court Appeal,
December 18, 2000 95
1.8 Varian v. Delfino and Day, Santa Clara County, 2001 95
1.9 Nouveau Riche International Model and
Talent Management and TheDirty.com 96
1.10 Byong-Jon Kim v. Dongpo News, Kwang Ho Song,
and John Doe 96
1.11 Teacher “powerless” to stop ex-girlfriend’s
cyberstalking 97
1.12 Texas couple awarded $13 million in
defamation case 97
1.14 Jury awards $11.3M over defamatory Internet posts 97
2. Cyber Heroes 98
2.1 Lindsay Bottos 98
2.2 Bill Belsey 98
2.3 Jada 99
2.4 Mean Tweets on Jimmy Kimmel Live 99
2.5 Dan Rice and David Liebensohn 100
2.6 Sometimes just speaking out is an act of bravery 100
12 Take Back the Internet and Your Life 103
1. Drown the Internet with Good Content 104
1.1 What is good content? 105
2. Pay or Do-It-Yourself SEO 107
Contents ix
3. Taking Back Your Life: Healing from the Inside Out 108
4. What If We’re the Bully and We Don’t Even Know It? 113
5. Step into the Light and Create Your Future 114
Samples
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