Rabbi Shlomo Aviner is head of Ateret Yerushalayim Yeshiva.
Scrolling on Facebook and Lashon Hara
Every scroll on Facebook begins innocently. One post, a picture, another minute. But when it becomes an hour and another hour, day after day - it is almost impossible to come out of it clean. Without noticing, this innocent scrolling turns into a chain of lashon hara.
Not because you are a bad person. But because the algorithm is built exactly on this. Content that arouses anger, judgment, and curiosity about other people causes you to stay affixed. So it feeds you this “drug" without interruption.
And we have found very convenient justifications for ourselves, so that we can feel good about our behavior:
Justification A: “He is a public figure - so it is permitted"
“He put himself at the front of the stage. A politician, YouTuber, famous Rabbi - someone who entered the public domain made himself available for discussion and judgment, didn’t he? So we convince ourselves that it is permitted to feast on the post and even comment ourselves."
Well, no. The Chafetz Chaim (Laws of Lashon Hara, Rule 4) sets very specific and narrow conditions for cases in which it is permitted to speak publicly about someone who sinned. He never wrote that “someone who is famous - his blood is permitted." Moreover, the Chafetz Chaim (Rule 7) explicitly rules regarding the principle of “apei telata" (publicity). Even if the matter is already known to everyone, even if the post was shared ten-thousand times and there is already a news article about it, it is still forbidden to read, share, and enjoy the downfall of that person. Viral-ity is not a halakhic permit.
Justification B: “It is for the good of the public, I am fighting for justice - so it is a mitzvah."
“I am not gossiping. I am fighting for the values of the nation, for religion, for the sector, for the truth. Whoever does not understand this is part of the problem!"
The Chafetz Chaim lists the justifications that people build for themselves, and writes that most lashon hara in the world is spoken out from a deep conviction that the speaker is right. This is exactly the place where the evil inclination dresses itself in the uniform of a mitzvah.
In order for a post or comment to be considered “for a beneficial purpose" (protection of the public), the Chafetz Chaim (Rule 10) sets seven strict and cumulative conditions, among them: you saw the act yourself; your purpose is only protection and not revenge or contempt; you are not exaggerating any detail; there is no other way to achieve the benefit.
Is it permitted to disagree with someone’s opinion? Certainly! But the moment you moved to attacking the person himself (mocking his appearance, his intelligence, or cursing him) you moved from “beneficial purpose" to public humiliation.
So what does one do in practice? How do you survive the feed?
A moment before you linger over a charged post, remember the two iron rules of scrolling:
- The rule of “warning versus belief"
You saw a post warning about a swindler? It is permitted to read in order to beware! But the halakha (Tractate Niddah) established a brilliant rule: “Lekabulei lo miba’ei - lemichash lei miba’ei." Meaning: it is forbidden to accept what is written as absolute truth in your heart, but it is obligatory to be concerned and cautious in order not to be harmed. Protect your wallet, but do not pass judgment in your heart. - The trap of the comments:
The post itself can be innocent, but the comments are a battlefield of slander. The post may be permitted - the comments are forbidden. Identify the poison, and simply continue scrolling.
In the end, the real question is not only “Am I permitted to read this?" The question is what is happening inside you during the scrolling. Are you searching for truth, or are you actually enjoying someone’s downfall in order to feel that you are on the “right" side?
The “Shmirat HaLashon" writes that the true test is not what you tell yourself, but what you feel at the moment you are reading. And only you (and the algorithm) know the answer.