Coronavirus has amplified online shaming and harassment, and it's not just a problem for influencers
- As people adjust to the new normal of surviving a pandemic, many are documenting their quarantine activities online — a decision that often leads to intense scrutiny and even harassment.
- Fashion influencer Arielle Charnas received intense backlash online for her behavior after receiving a positive COVID-19 diagnosis — criticism, Charnas says, that even took the form of death threats.
- Influencers and public figures are not the only ones receiving criticism; private individuals who post their activities online are also vulnerable to public backlash.
- Drawing the line between effective online mobilization and harassment, however, has proven to be a difficult task.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
"I just wanted to come on here and say I'm sorry. I never in a million years wanted to hurt anyone," Arielle Charnas said, her voice breaking. "We're just trying to navigate through this difficult time, as I'm sure so many people are, and I'm just sorry I let down my community in any way."
Charnas, a lifestyle influencer who founded the fashion brand Something Navy, continued, noting that she and her family had received "horrible" death threats.
Charnas experienced an early case of what would become amplified online coronavirus backlash, as more people logged on, channeling a potent cocktail of quarantine emotions.
The tearful video posted to Charnas' Instagram story on April 2 referenced a saga that began weeks earlier when she shared her health struggles with her 1.3 million followers.
On March 16, the 32-year-old told her audience that she'd been feeling ill, but when followers suggested that she get tested for COVID-19, she explained that she did not meet the testing criteria. Later, she announced that she would, in fact, be tested. Days later, she posted that she tested positive for COVID-19.
Following her COVID-19 diagnosis, Charnas resumed posting her standard social media content, sharing videos of her two young daughters in her Manhattan apartment, filming "unboxing" videos, and learning TikTok dances. On March 26, she posted content suggesting that she and her family had relocated to a house in the Hamptons. In several since-deleted posts, she shared photos of herself and her children outdoors getting "fresh air."
Charnas received intense backlash, both on Instagram and Twitter, for accessing a test amid a national shortage — and for her behavior after testing positive, which critics called "irresponsible," "shocking," and "selfish."
Perhaps the most thorough criticism came from an extensive Twitter thread written by freelance writer and copywriter Sophie Ross. Ross, a self-described former fan of Charnas, told Insider that she'd noticed a pattern of "problematic behavior" from the influencer over the years. She unfollowed Charnas on social media, but kept up with her content "to check in and snark." While Ross never actively encouraged followers to attack Charnas, snarking often leads to various forms of harassment, and has become synonymous with group attacks that often accompany it, with anger and outrage often fomenting in dedicated spaces that receive hundreds or thousands of posts per day criticizing influencers and other public figures.
When Charnas began posting about her COVID-19 diagnosis and subsequent activity, Ross said she was "horrified" by the influencer's behavior – and bewildered by the lack of criticism online.
"It was really just me noticing that this bizarre situation was happening and no one else was calling her out for it," Ross explained. "So I kind of took it upon myself."
On March 30, Ross posted screenshots from Charnas' social media, creating a timeline of the influencer's behavior since she first posted about her illness.
The thread documented each of Charnas' posts since she began sharing her health situation and criticized her for "using her connections" to get tested, "not completely self-isolat[ing]," and "putting lives at risk."
Ross' Twitter thread sparked a deluge of outrage, receiving hundreds of comments from followers who called Charnas "vapid and privileged." Other commenters zeroed in on Charnas' appearance, calling her "anorexic." Some even shared the direct messages they'd send to the fashion influencer on Instagram.
Three days later, Charnas posted her tearful apology to her Instagram story and shared a post in which she refuted some of the claims made on Twitter. She also posted a statement titled "A Sincere Apology" on the Something Navy website, acknowledging that "part of what [she] does" involves weathering public opinion, but recent critical voices had been "loud, hurtful and largely misinformed."
"We are all human. We all make mistakes, including me, especially when a crisis such as this is developing so quickly," she wrote.
Ross says she does not condone the harassment of influencers and considers death threats to be "disgusting" behavior (she also discourages people from contacting influencers directly with angry comments). But unpleasant comments, she says, are "the nature of social media" and holding public figures accountable is critical when they are setting an example for their "millions of followers."
Does calling out an online personality via social media solve the problem and promote account accountability? Ross says she doesn't know.
"I don't think that I'm necessarily achieving that," she said. "I'm just trying to spread awareness. But it's on people to make their own decisions."
Charnas and her fellow influencers are not the only ones being called out — and harassed – for their behavior amid the pandemic. 41% of adults and 67% of young people have been victims of online harassment, according to a 2017 Pew study.
18-year-old Malissa, a recent high school graduate from Los Angeles, channeled her quarantine boredom into what she believed would be a fun activity — "raiding" high school Zoom classes to occasionally learn a new subject or, more often, to disrupt a class at a student's request. She filmed her class disturbances and posted the results to TikTok.
Her videos went viral, receiving hundreds of thousands of views — and Insider, among other outlets, reported on her newfound online fame.
The online attention, however, came with intense backlash — criticism that quickly turned to harassment.
Malissa says that her original videos received positive comments from amused students looking to participate in the raids, but media attention brought out the vitriol of adults.
"People were calling me a c--- and a b----," Malissa told Insider of the escalating comments. "I had a terrible panic attack when I read the comments. I was scared, and when I told my parents, my dad was scared because everyone making hateful comments was a full-grown adult."
While Malissa worried about the lengths that her critics might go to in order to teach her a lesson, the harassment didn't make her reconsider her actions.
"I believe constructive criticism is a great way to adjust someone's behavior, but calling a teenager a b---- for dropping in on classes is not a great way to change my mind and [make me] feel bad about what I did," she said.
The question remains, where can we draw the line between demanding accountability and promoting harassment? And is online shaming even effective?
Sue Scheff, an internet safety expert and author of "Shame Nation: The Global Epidemic of Online Hate," told Insider that the "mob mentality" of online behavior has ushered in an era of the "corrosion of civility and humanity," in online spaces, particularly in cases when shamers believe they are acting in service of the greater good.
Calling out offending parties, a tactic Scheff calls "aim and shame," can have unintended consequences, particularly during an unprecedented time of isolation.
"The emotional piece of it can be very serious since many of us are home alone and don't have a lot of support if we are feeling threatened or hurting," she explained, adding that online harassment — which often follows the spread of misinformation — can result in deep depression.
"Too many, especially under stress, are quick to judge and slow to consider what the long term ramifications of their post or comment will be," she said. "What many also fail to realize is that what you post also can impact your own life and how people will view you. It's also a reflection of your character."
But even Scheff says that online shaming has its place in enacting social change. "In rare cases," she says, shaming in the name of social justice is effective. Specifically, she believes that vigorous online discourse surrounding EpiPen price gouging and widespread outrage surrounding the trial of Brock Turner played a critical role in changing outcomes.
Some shaming amid the pandemic, she says, has also proven to be effective.
"We were seeing swarms of people on beaches [in Florida]," Schedd recalled. "But public shaming surrounding that has made an impact that could be long-lasting. Not only did it mandate beaches to be closed in Florida, some businesses even told people in the photos that they don't need to apply to their companies for jobs."
Ultimately, she believes, it's difficult to find a balance of enforcing accountability and mitigating harassment.
"In the end," she said, "nobody wins."
Online harassment, particularly of influencers, began well before the pandemic.
Taylor Lorenz, a technology reporter for The New York Times, has concerns about the culture of attacking influencers online (often based on unverified information).
"I think people should worry about this whole drama industrial complex and the effect that it has on influencers," Lorenz told Insider, citing the recent suicide of "Love Island" host Caroline Flack as an example of the devastating consequences of social media users "piling on" online.
Online shaming — and the resultant harassment of influencers amid the coronavirus pandemic — she says is merely "a symptom of something that's always existed with influencer culture." Between "tea channels," and subreddits that promote collecting and discussing every detail of influencer's lives, people are given the space to post "whatever they want."
"It's interesting seeing it through this lens when there's the added component of fear and hysteria," she said.
Ultimately, Lorenz says, the issue is not "one random person [calling out influencers]," rather the "toxic communities" that inspire and encourage the behavior.
After weeks of online silence, Arielle Charnas returned to Instagram on April 24 – but her online activity continues to be met with backlash.
After briefly making her Instagram account private and then taking a social media hiatus, Charnas reconnected with her followers on Friday, posting photos of her children and her weekend projects which included a DIY tie-dying project.
"The last month has taught me a lot both personally and professionally about the responsibilities I have to my communities and everyone else. I recognize how important it is to lead by example during these difficult times, and I am committed to acting and making content that recognizes the world we live in now," Charnas told Insider in a statement. "I realize that I'm fortunate that my experience has been minor compared to the hardships that so many are facing right now, and we are all trying to make sense of everything, including how to engage on social media. I have a new sense of purpose, and I want to move forward and prove that I can contribute in a meaningful and sensitive way."
Charnas added that she has "missed [her] community" and is thankful for her supporters who "continue to be [her] inspiration."
In the wake of the social media return, Ross updated her Twitter thread. In a series of tweets, she documented each new installment Charnas' Instagram activity, and accused the influencer of being "manipulative" and "using her kids a shield to skirt responsibility during scandals." The thread also includes comments from Charnas' followers, many of whom called her apology "pathetic"
The thread has received nearly 9,000 likes
Read more: