"who Do You Think You Are?" Series

You can run but you can’t hide. That’s certainly true today, amen? They not only know where you live and work, but probably know what kind of car you drive, when you take a shower, what’s your favorite flavor of ice cream or your favorite show on TV, what station you listen to in the car. They probably know far more about us than we care for them to know, amen?

For example, have you heard of “doxing”? It’s spelled “d-o-x-x-i-n-g” but it means what the name sounds like … it’s the practice of going through your on-line “documents” to find any personal information about you that can be used to publicly embarrass, harass, and even threaten you. Computer hackers search for and publish your personal information, such as home address, workplace details, your personal phone number, your social security number, bank account or credit card information, private correspondence, criminal history … I know that none of you have to worry about that … personal photos, and embarrassing personal details on line for all the world to see (www.usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/what-is-doxing).

The motivation behind doxing varies. A “doxer” may feel that someone has insulted them or attacked them and they are out for revenge. It could be someone who holds a strong controversial opinion that they don’t agree with or someone who doesn’t agree with their particular opinion. Doxing has become a terrifying threat in today’s political and polarized culture wars. Doxing used to be targeted at high-profile people … like politicians, celebrities, and journalists … but has been increasingly used against regular folks like you or me who have drawn the attention of the “on-line vigilante mobs” who constantly search the internet to silence anyone who offends them or disagrees with their social or political views. The objective of cyber-bullying … or the use of cyber-space or the internet to intimidate or silence opposing voices … as the name implies is to bully, to intimidate, or humiliate the victim in question. Doxing attacks can range from trivial attacks … like setting up fake email accounts in your name or ordering pizza delivery to your house … to making death threats, getting people fired from their jobs, or showing up at people’s houses.

Doxers believe that they are justified in what they are doing. For example, the nebulous on-line group known as “Anonymous” doxed hundreds of alleged KKK members … who cares, right? But they also released the details and personal information for over 7,000 law enforcement personal ( www.usa.kaspersky.com, ibid.) … putting both KKK members and law enforcement people at risk. Kyle Quinn, for example, is a professor from Arkansas who was wrongly accused of being a neo-Nazi who participated in the Charlottesville protests. Overnight, Mr. Quinn’s image was shared across social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram by literally thousands of people … many of whom contacted Mr. Quinn’s employer demanding that he be fired (Doxxing Can Ruin Your life. Here's How (You Can Avoid It) (heimdalsecurity.com).

Twenty-eight-year-old Andrew Finch was a big fan of an on-line video game called “Call of Duty.” Over time he got into repeated arguments with another player by the name of Tyler Barris. Enjoying the fight, another on-line player egged Barris on, suggesting that Barris “swat” Finch. You “swat” someone by making a fake emergency call to the police, giving them your victim’s address. Barris called the police and told them that Finch had broken into someone’s home and was holding them hostage. When the police arrived a Finch’s house, they accidently shot him dead. As if that weren’t bad enough, Barris bragged about his achievement on Twitter before the police came and arrested him.

Images of Mark and Patricia McCloskey defending their St. Louis home during a BLM protest went “viral” on the internet and resulted in doxers attacking them and not only threatening their home but posting the address of their law practice on-line. Thousands of people posted scathing one-star reviews on Yelp and Facebook accusing them of being racists (Charles, J. “Here are 10 Despicable Ways Far-Left Extremists Have Doxxed Conservatives. Red State, November 10, 2020).

Of course, you all remember Nick Sandmann … the young man who was confronted by a Native American drumming in his face during a high school trip to Washington, DC. Of course, the doxing community went to work, posting personal information about him and his family that resulted in hundreds of threats. What you may not know is that one doxer mistakenly identified the young man who was having a drum beat in his face as Andrew Hodge … another high school student who had absolutely nothing to do with the Covington High School field trip to the nation’s capital. None the less, Andrew Hodge and his family were threatened and were attacked and harassed on-line. (Otzerchowski, H. “Lunatic Leftists Doxed a Random Kid Thinking He Was in the Covington Video – Family now receiving violent threats. The Gateway Pundit, January 20, 2019).