Online shaming is a form of Internet vigilantism in which targets are publicly humiliated for actions done privately or without wanting intended public broadcast using technology like social and new media. Proponents of shaming see it as a form of online participation that allows hacktivists and cyber-dissidents to right injustices. Critics see it as a tool that encourages online mobs to destroy the reputation and careers of people or organizations who made perceived slights.^[1]

Online shaming frequently involves the publication of private information on the Internet (called doxing), which can frequently lead to hate messages and death threats being used to intimidate that person. The ethics of public humiliation has been a source of debate over privacy and ethics.

The social networking tools of the Internet have been used as a tool to easily and widely publicize instances of perceived anti-social behavior.

David Furlow, chairman of the Media, Privacy and Defamation Committee of the American Bar Association, has identified the potential privacy concerns raised by websites facilitating the distribution of information that is not part of the public record (documents filed with a government agency), and has said that such websites "just [give] a forum to people whose statements may not reflect truth."^[1]

After some controversial incidents of public shaming, the popular link-sharing and discussion website Reddit introduced a strict rule against the publication of non-public personally-identifying information via the site (colloquially known on Reddit and elsewhere as "doxing"^{[clarification needed]}). Those who break the rule are subject to a site-wide ban, and their posts and even entire communities may be removed for breaking the rule.

In 2015, online shaming was the subject of the book So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson.^[2] Ronson documented how people had become agoraphobic due to humiliation online for misinterpreted jokes, and says people should think twice before gleefully condemning someone for doing almost nothing wrong.^[2] Ronson touches on the unforgiving nature of a collective consciousness, an issue prevalent in contemporary cancel culture.

In 2019, John Oliver discussed public shaming and online bullying in an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he interviewed Monica Lewinsky about the topic.^[3]

Doxing involves researching and broadcasting personally identifiable information about an individual, often with the intention of harming that person.^[4][5][6][7] This can often lead to extortion, coercion, harassment and other forms of abuse. On February 1, 2017, Reddit, a social news website, has banned two alt-right communities, r/altright and r/alternativeright for doxing and violating Reddit community guidelines.^[8][9][10]

Nonconsensual pornography is a form of sexually explicit recording publicized on the Internet in order to humiliate a person, frequently distributed by computer hackers or ex-partners (called revenge porn). Images and video of sexual acts are often combined with doxing of a person's private details, such as their home addresses and workplaces.^[11][12] Victims' lives can be ruined as a result, the victims exposed to cyber-stalking and physical attack as well as facing difficulties in their workplace should their images become known as a result of routine checks by employers. Some have lost their jobs, while others have been unable to find work at all.^[13]

Products frequently attract negative reviews on Goodreads,^[14] Amazon and other online commerce websites.

In many cases, users of Yelp write reviews in order to lash out at corporate interests or businesses they dislike.^[15] During the Chick-fil-A same-sex marriage controversy, activists encouraged a consumer boycott of Chick-fil-A and left negative reviews of the site's locations on restaurant rating websites after the founder declared that corporate profits would be donated to political causes opposing same-sex marriage in the United States. In 2015 an Indiana pizzeria was swarmed with negative Yelp reviews after the owner said it wouldn't cater gay weddings.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21]} Similar reactions have frequently followed bakers refusing to make cakes for gay weddings.^[22][23] After Cecil the lion was shot by an American recreational big-game hunter, his business was flooded with negative reviews.^[24]

Various governments have used "name and shame" policies to punish tax evasion,^[25][26][27] environmental violations^[28] and minor crimes like littering.^[29] Shaming is also used in the context of regulation by administrative agencies. Regulatory shaming refers to the publication of negative information by administrative agencies concerning private regulated bodies, mostly Corporations, in order to further public-interest goals.^[30] For instance, regulatory agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration send out condemning press releases and use social media to publish workplace safety violations with the names of responsible companies,^[31] while the Food and Drug Administration shames companies for blocking competition in the pharmaceutical industry.^[32]

• Internet vigilantism
• Call-out culture
• Incel

• Hate Crimes in Cyberspace – by Danielle Keats Citron
• The Outrage Machine: a short documentary by Retro Report that looks at the origin of Internet shaming and what it feels like to be caught up in a case of online shaming gone viral.
• Cyberbullying Reports: an online community dedicated to exposing cyberbullying.