By Adam Pagnucco, Eric Luedtke and Dan Reed.
Recently, an anonymous blog appeared targeting Montgomery County Council Member Mike Knapp. The sole purpose of this blog was to attack Mr. Knapp's character in an effort to discourage him from running for County Executive. We will not do the author a favor by linking to his work. The issue for us is not Mr. Knapp or his fitness for office. Rather, the creation of this blog, which is neither the first nor the last of its kind, calls a question of vital importance to Maryland's blogosphere. And this is our response.
All of us blog under our own names. We do it because we believe what we say. We do it because we are willing to stand behind our words. And we do it because we do not fear accountability from our readers. In fact, transparency and accountability are good for the blogosphere. They are the primary tools by which our still young, and occasionally unruly, medium can be improved.
Unfortunately, our medium is subject to abuse by those who attempt to destroy the reputation of others while hiding behind a veil of anonymity. By spreading incorrect and possibly libelous information, anonymous attack bloggers do a disservice to legitimate bloggers and to the community as a whole.
While we may disagree on some matters, we agree on the fact that these anonymous attackers discredit the blogosphere and political activism as a whole. For the good of our craft, our readers and the public discourse, we the undersigned stand against them and condemn their work. Specifically, the creator of the anonymous blog attacking Mike Knapp should either have the courage to identify himself or herself or have the decency to delete the blog.
Dan Reed is the author of Just Up the Pike. Eric Luedtke is a contributor to Free State Politics. Adam Pagnucco is a contributor to Maryland Politics Watch. As measured by Sitemeter, Just Up the Pike, Free State Politics and Maryland Politics Watch are three of the five most-read blogs in the state of Maryland.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
A Joint Statement Against Anonymous Attack Blogs
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7 comments:
I support and endorse these comments by Adam, Eric and Dan. (Occasionally Adam is kind enough to publish my blogs.) I opposed Mike Knapp in the last council election but I do not believe that any elected officials or candidates should be subjected to bloggers who are not accountable for their statements. While I have not seen the posting discussed - and prefer not to - I submit that anything worth saying should be said with attribution and the writer should be adult enough to take whatever the fallout might be.
Sharon Dooley
I don't mean to be a contrarian here, but I honestly think that there is an important place in public discourse for anonymous blogs and comments. Every day print journalists print "off the record" information that they could never have without providing the shield of anonymity. In politics, there is always the risk of political retaliation.
Secondly, this blog is a lot more bland now that anonymous user comments have been disabled. Certainly there is very little criticism of local elected officials. If people could speak without attribution, as they do at the Maryland Moment, I think this would be a more lively place!
Finally, even on this site (or almost any website), posts aren't truly authenticated to their source. Someone can very easily create a fake webmail account and write under false attribution. How can you even be sure that Saqib Ali really wrote this comment????
Take Care
- Saqib
Saqib, there is definitely a place for anonymous publication in politics. The history of the American Revolution certainly tells us that. Doubtless it's the same in many places.
However, anonymous posting of legitimate dissent differs from what Adam and others (including myself) all condemn. I call it "Stealth Slander" or "Anonymous Libel Blogging".
If the primary content of either verbal remarks intended to circulate widely, or comparably defamatory libels, that's simple anonymous sniping and it's no more morally acceptable than actually sitting out in a parking lot in a used police car shooting at random people. There's just no legitimate excuse for that sort of thing. It's not just immoral, it's clearly dishonorable in both intent and execution.
In most places outside of Montgomery County, children are expected to grow out of this sort of behavior about the time they get their driving permits.
Locally, we have a fairly extensive subset of the mainstream culture which seems to believe that the proper basis of politics and society is a well-placed Slander Bomb or Libel Blog.
Of course it's totally anti-American (something in the Constitution about having the right to confront your accusers) but somehow all of the old-school socialization seems far away from Montgomery County's public culture these days.
Am I (together with, clearly, Adam Eric and Dan) one of the very few who remember "if you're going to be talking about people without accusing them at law, either say something good or don't say anything at all"? This used to go without saying, and apparently it once again needs to be said.
Stealth Slander or Anonymous Libel Blogging is morally unsupportable and politically intolerable. And I believe that at this point, at the very least, Mike Knapp would agree with this statement. Let's try to get the rest of the County Council on board with this as well.
I haven't seen the Anti-Knapp blog (and I don't want to. He's a really decent guy). So I'm not speaking directly about that blog... but in general.
If we didn't have anonymous sources, we would never have had Deep Throat... and powerful interests would be able to act with greater impunity... not excusing slander of course.
I am a relatively new reader to this blog. I found it while searching for information on the Slots debate. I appreciate the ability to express my opinions on the subject, which I do under my user name because I have nothing to hid
However, one person's "abuse" is another's "dirty tricks," as we can see in the current presidential election. What you may consider "incorrect" and "possibly libelous" (emphasis added) is another person's spin. Regardless, discourse is necessary in all politics.
The person who owns that site may have an agenda--I cannot judge because I do not know what site you are talking about--but that is the author's prerogative.
Politics is a contact sport. I support that blogger's right to write what he or she wants just I like support your right to complain about it. That is what makes the process fun.
Besides, considering the politics of the 19th century, I am sure the attack on Mike Knapp is pablum in comparison!!
Saqib, all,
Again, I agree wholeheartedly that there is a definite legitimate purpose for anonymity in certain types of political dissent.
For example, considering the lengths to which the "Church" of $cientology has gone to quash any non-positive discussion of its practices, it's clear that the only remotely safe way to criticize it is under the name of Anonymous.
Yet the problem with "anonymous" is that for every legitimate anonymous -- perhaps better said, for every anonymous protecting their identity while attacking vengeful powerful targets -- there seem to be a dozen anonymi carrying on like spoiled brats, or even like packs of spoiled brats. It's this latter group we all decry, if only because they sully the name and tradition of the "legitimate anonymous".
If one is not willing to back up their comments with their name- I take what they say with very little seriousness.
Those who know me, know that i have spoken my mind, been called names, criticized etc,. but that doesn't stop me from speaking my mind.
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